Alabama Football: Champions Cookout weekend kicked off with 5-Star commit

There’s nothing like starting off one of the most important recruiting weekends with a bang. Alabama Football did just that on Friday afternoon, picking up a verbal commitment from 5-Star running back, Richard Young.

Hank South of 247Sports broke the good news.

Using the word MASSIVE in capital letters is what Young’s decision deserved. According to the 247Sports Composite, Young is the No. 2 running back in the 2023 class and the No. 24 player overall.

In the On3 Consensus Player Rankings, Richard Young is rated the No. 1 running back and the No. 31 player overall. Unfortunately for On3, earlier on Friday, a prediction of Young to Oregon was published. That shows how difficult it can be to predict what decision a recruit will make. Recent reports were that Oregon was pushing hard for Young, but the Crimson Tide won out over the Ducks, Georgia, Florida and other programs.

More Alabama Football commits this weekend?

Are there more fireworks ahead for the weekend? There could be. Most recruiting experts believe Nick Saban can make room for only three wide receivers in the 2023 class. Two, 2023 wideouts, Malik Benson and Cole Adams are already committed.

Believed to be in Tuscaloosa this weekend are 3-Star, WR, Jaren Hamilton; and two 4-Star receivers, Demitrius Bell and Jalen Hale. Jalen Hale is from Longview, TX and the Longhorns are thought to be a clear leader for his commitment. Bell is a Michigan State commit. Other programs pursuing Bell are Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Penn State.

I am not predicting a wideout commitment this weekend, but tight numbers could cause one to happen. The flip side is Nick Saban is cautious about accepting commitments and he never wants a recruit to announce a decision until the young man is sure.

Following Hank South’s lead, I am going to say Alabama Football recruiting is ‘en fuego’, as in ON FIRE.

With the addition of Richard Young taking the Tide’s verbal commit number to 16, the Crimson Tide continues to move up in the Team Rankings.

In the 247Sports Composite, the Crimson Tide is now No. 4, trailing only Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia. Alabama has the highest average player rating in the Composite.

The On3 Consensus Team Rankings now has the Alabama Crimson Tide as the No. 1 class. Alabama is followed by Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia and Texas.

In those same On3 rankings, Texas A&M is No. 35 and Auburn is No. 52. It is still early in the recruiting cycle, but Nick Saban is winning again.