📝 🏈 '26 Class Recruiting Updates

Alabama signed who they thought they'd sign overall in this class so far.

That doesn't mean they are completely done.

There's Cooley who is looking like he will make his choice on Friday between Bama and LSU. - 4-star Lineman currently committed to LSU Pretty sure he's Bama bound has been rumblings since last week when he was on campus.

Samson Gash - Had grade issues and needed another semester, so he delayed his commitment and signing to Feb supposedly between Bama and Michigan State but we shall see. He was trending Bama's way but said he wanted to see who MSU hired as their HC, so we shall see what happens there over the next two months.

Javari Barnett 3-star RB - Illinois - Flipped from us, this was expected he wanted somewhere he felt he could find early playing time

JJ Finch - 4 star DL - Tenn - Bama let this guy walk, they really like Franklin who they added today, they felt Finch was falling and had an underwhelming year while Franklin had a breakout year.

Brian Williams - 3 Star WR - Auburn - Bama had seen this coming for over a month, we expected it pretty sure they planned to have it on signing day as a big "steal" for them instead of having him announce it earlier in November

Owen Cabell - 3 Star WR - Vandy - Only guy we really wanted to stay in the class that we lost today we liked him as a possession WR that can develop. All in all, we're fine in the WR department losing him not a big blow.

Transfer Portal - There's likely a few targets we'll want but we gotta see once everyone gets their name in and we know what holes we gotta fill
 
Alabama signed who they thought they'd sign overall in this class so far.

That doesn't mean they are completely done.

There's Cooley who is looking like he will make his choice on Friday between Bama and LSU. - 4-star Lineman currently committed to LSU Pretty sure he's Bama bound has been rumblings since last week when he was on campus.

Samson Gash - Had grade issues and needed another semester, so he delayed his commitment and signing to Feb supposedly between Bama and Michigan State but we shall see. He was trending Bama's way but said he wanted to see who MSU hired as their HC, so we shall see what happens there over the next two months.

Javari Barnett 3-star RB - Illinois - Flipped from us, this was expected he wanted somewhere he felt he could find early playing time

JJ Finch - 4 star DL - Tenn - Bama let this guy walk, they really like Franklin who they added today, they felt Finch was falling and had an underwhelming year while Franklin had a breakout year.

Brian Williams - 3 Star WR - Auburn - Bama had seen this coming for over a month, we expected it pretty sure they planned to have it on signing day as a big "steal" for them instead of having him announce it earlier in November

Owen Cabell - 3 Star WR - Vandy - Only guy we really wanted to stay in the class that we lost today we liked him as a possession WR that can develop. All in all, we're fine in the WR department losing him not a big blow.

Transfer Portal - There's likely a few targets we'll want but we gotta see once everyone gets their name in and we know what holes we gotta fill
That sounds about right. I'm guessing we'll see around 10 hitting portal and so we'll know what # looking like around Christmas draft kind
 
Think any big names jump?
Depends on what you call big names, also depends on what their agents are asking for $$ wise.

I could honestly name some I expect to enter the portal this year but we shall see, also this is greatly impacted by potential draft entries and such also. If Simpson doesn't enter the draft and comes back next year, Mack or Russell or maybe both could be gone...it's sorta like that. There's so many "what-if" scenarios and possibilities that it's gonna have to shake out first and then we can build a list of possibilities
 
@Brandon Van de Graaff do you foresee any big names entering the portal for us?

Too early to say. There will be a few looking to go elsewhere for playing time. Maybe not necessarily "big" names... but Bama will be fishing too. They've allocated some extra money for some DL players, which are costly. Hopefully, they have some success there. But after their final game, which is hopefully a while from now, that stuff will start to sort out. The window doesn't open (for Bama) for another month (Jan 2nd).
 
USC with 35 commitments, hard to not have the top class when you sign that many more than everyone else
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One thing for everyone to remember is just because someone is recruiting a ton of players doesn't mean they're recruiting the best players. Before Bama added the extra 3-star RB we were #1 after adding that back it dropped our AVG player rating just behind Oregon we were at 94.5 or something along those lines beforehand. So we likely signed one of the top 3 classes this cycle. Quality over Quantity
 
You know what? I'll take him.

Office Space No GIF
 



Alabama football’s five-star running back signee, Ezavier Crowell has been named the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Alabama.

https://tdalabamamag.com/2025/12/05..._d24pYnz0w_JoVRNA_aem_SmvrR5V-r53XEos2VgPh8w#
Crowell joins the Crimson Tide’s five-star defensive back signee, Jireh Edwards, and Alabama’s four-star quarterback signee, Jett Thomalla, as winners of the award. Thomalla earned the award in Nebraska, and Edwards earned the award in Maryland. All three prospects signed with Alabama earlier this week.


Crowell has one more opportunity to add to a stellar senior season with Jackson set to play in the Alabama 4A State Championship on Friday.

Thomalla finished his senior season with 58 passing touchdowns en route to leading Millard South to a state championship.
 

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Alabama football’s five-star running back signee, Ezavier Crowell has been named the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Alabama.
Trio of Alabama signees named Gatorade Player of the Year for respective states
Crowell joins the Crimson Tide’s five-star defensive back signee, Jireh Edwards, and Alabama’s four-star quarterback signee, Jett Thomalla, as winners of the award. Thomalla earned the award in Nebraska, and Edwards earned the award in Maryland. All three prospects signed with Alabama earlier this week.


Crowell has one more opportunity to add to a stellar senior season with Jackson set to play in the Alabama 4A State Championship on Friday.

Thomalla finished his senior season with 58 passing touchdowns en route to leading Millard South to a state championship.
He already has 2 TD's in the 4A Championship game. Anniston is struggling to stop him. Jackson is up 16-0.
 
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