Alabama Football: After Miles McVay, how many more OL commits?
By Ronald Evans
On Thursday, Alabama Football added a verbal commitment from 4-Star, Offensive Lineman, Miles McVay. The young man from East St. Louis, IL is rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 19 offensive tackle and the No. 186 player overall in the 2023 class.
For the Crimson Tide, McVay is projected to play guard. At camps, he has been a dominating, physical player, using his 358 lbs. and strength to overpower defensive players. At 6’6″, his 358 lbs. weight is not far from an ideal number, though he will benefit from a body-shaping regime in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama football fans looking for a comparison can think of Deonte Brown’s power, without Cornbread’s serious weight problem. The Crimson Tide staff is high on McVay and sees him, not just as a future starter, but as an impact player.
Adding McVay gives Nick Saban and Eric Wolford, four offensive linemen in the 2023 class. Saturday afternoon, 3-Star, Raymond Pulido will announce a decision. Many recruiting experts are predicting he will choose Alabama. Pulido is rated as the No. 39 offensive tackle and the No. 482 player overall. Based on a camp performance in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide staff values the California high school player far higher than the rating suggests.
Some Alabama football insiders believe Pulido would be the steal of the 2023 class, with more potential than McVay, 4-Star, Wilkin Formby, 4-Star, Olaus Alinen, and 3-Star, RyQueze McElderry. Don’t mistake that opinion as a slam on the other Crimson Tide commits. What separates Pulido from the others is his quickness at 6’7″ and 350 lbs. He could possibly even add some good weight. He is already considered by some as a mauler. Physically, the young man could play as a freshman.
Alabama Football adding more OL commits?
Alabama football recruiting insiders have said five is the number of offensive linemen planned for in the 2023 class. Adding Pulido would put the Crimson Tide at five. It is possible a sixth could be added later. But only if it is a highly valued recruit, like 4-Star, Monroe Freeling, who is not expected to decide until fall official visits.
After the announcement by Miles McVay, the list of Alabama Crimson Tide verbal commits grew to 19. In the overall Team Rankings, the addition of McVay puts the Crimson Tide back to No. 1 in the 247Sports Composite and No. 1 in the On3 Consensus Team Rankings. The addition of McVay also gives Crimson Tide assistant, Freddie Roach the lead in recruiter rankings.