Official visit season gets started for Alabama this weekend, and it's a doozy of a weekend for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide.
Alabama will have 12 official visitors on campus starting Friday, headlined by 5-stars Monshun Sales and Hayden Stepp.
Alabama currently holds just six commitments in its 2027 recruiting class, but those numbers are soon to change. DeBoer mentioned at the SEC spring meetings in Destin this week that the Tide's class will be smaller than the last two after a big recruiting and portal haul this offseason. Alabama only has nine seniors on the roster, and the majority of its work in building next season's team will be with roster retention.
The quantity might not be there, but the quality isn't expected to change. Alabama will look to put its best foot forward to open the OV season, and could do so with the commitments of a few candidates who appear ready to pull the trigger if the Crimson Tide staff can do its job this weekend.
1. 4-star DL Mitchell Turner (Louisville, MS)
Alabama enters the summer as the heavy favorite for 4-star defensive lineman Mitchell Turner, the No. 1 player in the state of Mississippi in this cycle. Like Nolan Wilson a year ago, the Crimson Tide built an early relationship with Turner, jumping on him before he blew up with a monster junior season. Alabama was his first Power Four offer, a fact that has made a big difference for him during this process.
As a junior, Turner racked up 41 tackles-for-loss and 15.5 sacks from the defensive interior. He was a one-man wrecking crew for his team's defensive line.
Alabama has picked up a couple of predictions for Turner already and holds a major lead according to the Rivals RPM. He'll be on campus this weekend, with visits currently set up with Ole Miss, Texas, and Mississippi State after.
DeBoer and company will try to get Turner to commit and shut things down this weekend. Turner is the No. 57 overall player in the 247 composite
2. 4-star RB Nigel Newkirk (Gainesville, GA)
Like Turner, Alabama holds a major lead on the Rivals RPM and has predictions in its favor for 4-star RB Nigel Newkirk heading into the summer visit season. Gainesville has been a major pipeline for the Crimson Tide in recent cycles, with Alabama landing Xavier Griffin and Jamarion Matthews from there in the 2026 cycle.
Alabama is looking to take two running backs in this cycle, and Newkirk has long been a priority for DeBoer and staff.
Newkirk has a commitment date set up for July 1st, but Alabama would love nothing more than for him to move that up and pull the trigger this weekend. The Tide may lead, but there will be plenty of anxiety surrounding his visits to LSU, Ohio State, and Michigan in coming weeks.
3. 4-star DE Antwan Jackson (Collierville, TN)
Alabama has sat in a good spot with 4-star defensive end Antwan Jackson for a while, and this is a big opportunity to go ahead and close the deal with the Tennessee native. Jackson has impressive size at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds.
Jackson also plans to visit Ole Miss, Missouri, and Tennessee this summer. The home-state Volunteers have long been seen as the biggest competition for DeBoer and company, so getting him locked in this weekend would be critical, and also serve as yet another major recruiting win for the Tide coach over Josh Heupel.
4. 3-star CB Darrius White (Faiburn, GA)
As soon as 3-star CB Nash Johnson III decommitted from Alabama, it appeared Maurice Linguist and others for the Tide had already shifted their focus toward Georgia native Darrius White, a 6-foot-3 corner who fits the size that Alabama's staff covets at the position.
White has been seen as an Alabama lean for some time, and the Tide holds a big lead according to the Rivals RPM as official visits get started in earnest. White took a trip to Tennessee last week and has visits planned to Georgia Tech and Cincinnati after his Alabama visit.
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