If you need some entertainment, I suggest reading the Alabama message boards and forums. It’s currently a war between those defending the current Alabama recruiting class and those attacking it. In fact, the attacks have become so bad that Jason Seaborn, father of 4-star Alabama commit Trent Seaborn, took to X to defend the current commits.
The State of the Class
Per the On3 Industry Rankings, the Alabama class currently ranks #34 nationally. The Tide currently possesses 1 5-star, 3 4-stars, and 9 3-stars. #1 QB Elijah Haven is the gem of the class, as he committed to Alabama back in April. #8 WR and #51 overall player Osani Gayles recently committed, substantially boosting Alabama’s class ranking.
RB Nigel Newkirk and QB Trent Seaborn are the only other blue-chip talents in the class. Each of them is ranked in the low-200s. The rest of the class is currently formed with 3-star talents, some of whom the Alabama staff just offered in recent weeks. EDGE players Tyler Younger and Jeremiah Beverly are prime examples, having just recently earned offers.
The Alabama staff and GM Courtney Morgan have been vocal about their belief that talent should be evaluated at a discount for recruiting in this cycle. The Tide have been involved with many elite talents in this cycle, letting most of those talents go to save millions of dollars.
Why Use This Strategy Now?
Saving money hasn’t been the primary focus in Alabama’s recruiting during the past two cycles. The Tide have finished #3 and #6 in the On3 Industry Rankings in the 2025 and 2026 classes, acquiring talents like Keelon Russell, EJ Crowell, Dijon Lee, Michael Carroll, Jackson Lloyd, Jireh Edwards, Jordan Edmonds, Cederian Morgan, and Xavier Griffin. All of these players received 5-star rankings by at least one recruiting site. So why is evaluation and penny-pinching the strategy now?
Well, Alabama doesn’t have the nation’s largest NIL budget. The Tide has money to spend, but they’re behind multiple programs just in the SEC. Due to the youth on Alabama’s roster and the new eligibility rules, Alabama will dedicate almost all of its money to roster retention. Clint Lamb, an Alabama media personality for Cover Crimson, recently talked about the amount of talent that Alabama will need to retain.
Alabama has 37 top-100 recruits on the roster. Of those 37 players, 14 received a 5-star ranking on at least one recruiting site. Assuming Alabama has a successful season in 2026, many of the previously mentioned players will be due for a raise. The most expensive of all will be QB Keelon Russell. If Russell lives up to the #2 overall ranking that he was given, he’ll demand multiple millions heading into the 2027 season, potentially as high as 5-7 million dollars.
I mentioned the eligibility rules. Due to these new rules, Alabama has just a handful of players who must leave the program following the 2026 season. For example, Alabama has zero offensive linemen who will run out of eligibility following the season, which is why Alabama hasn’t heavily targeted any blue-chip offensive linemen out of high school.
The Flip Side
Now, has Alabama targeted high-profile recruits in this recruiting cycle and lost? Absolutely. In fact, just a few days ago, Alabama lost #6 DL Mitchell Turner to Ole Miss. Alabama was Turner’s first P4 offer. Alabama lost, or is predicted to lose, recruiting battles for 5-star WR Monshun Sales, 4-star CB Hayden Stepp, 4-star S Junior Tu’upo, 4-star EDGE KJ Green, and others.
It’s not that Alabama wasn’t targeting high-caliber players this cycle. It’s that Alabama wasn’t willing to pay a high price for high schoolers, given the upcoming retention cost post-2026. Some will speculate that Alabama boosters could be withholding funds from the coaching staff after the team suffered multiple blowouts in the 2025 season. Of course, that is also a possibility. It would help to explain why Alabama targeted highly-touted recruits in the first place. Why target recruits whom you didn’t plan to pay?
Takeaway
If you’re an Alabama fan trying to wrap your head around the #34 recruiting ranking, try to remember that Kalen DeBoer and his staff have assembled some of the best high school talent in the country over the last two recruiting cycles. Also, please keep in mind that retaining elite young talent is expensive once they arrive on campus.
The current 2027 recruiting strategy is a bet on the current roster. Spending too much money on high schoolers puts that roster at risk for the following season. Also, take a look at the upcoming 2028 recruiting class, where Alabama currently sits at #2 in the rankings and just received a prediction for #4 QB Kingston Preyear.
If you’d like to evaluate the current strategy, I suggest waiting until after the 2026 season. If the coaching staff is unable to retain most of its talent, then their plan has failed.
