Alabama has been seen as the leader for 4-star EDGE Antwan Jackson for quite some time. Coming out of his weekend official visit to Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide has strengthened its position, and it appears a commitment could be imminent.
Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide already landed one commitment from a weekend visitor when 4-star RB Nigel Newkirk pledged to Alabama on Sunday. Jackson could be next, and he was one who always seemed to be on commitment watch coming into the weekend.
Alabama may not have to wait much longer for a decision to be made:
"It’s definitely the top school right now. We probably have some big news coming soon as conversations keep going on," Jackson said, via BamaOnline's Blake Byler.
Antwan Jackson's Alabama commitment appears imminent after his official visit
The Colliverville, Tennessee native has been an Alabama lean for a while, but that doesn't mean DeBoer and his staff haven't had to continue putting in the work to reach the finish line in his recruitment. Jackson is a consensus 4-star recruit and has drawn a plethora of interest nationwide, particularly in the SEC.
It's been officially a four-horse race between Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Missouri for Jackson, though most experts have thought that the Tide's only real competition was home-state Tennessee. Jackson recently took an unofficial visit to Knoxville before coming down to Tuscaloosa, and he currently has official visits scheduled for all three of the other contenders in his recruitment.
Based on his comments, it wouldn't be surprising if he shuts things down in the coming days.
Alabama only has seven commitments in its 2027 class even after Newkirk's pledge, but DeBoer has said publicly that this won't be a big class. The Crimson Tide only has nine seniors and signed a big prep - and portal - class in the last cycle. The biggest focus after this season will be retention and strategic portal additions.
That means Alabama's class might be filling up quicker than you might think. 15 might be the magic number for this crop of high schoolers, which increases the urgency for prospects like Jackson to make decisions more quickly to ensure they have a spot.
At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds heading into his senior year of high school, Jackson projects as a Bandit DE in Kane Wommack's defensive system, but he's lined up all over the place at the prep level. He's played DE, LB, and even TE on offense for his high school.
Keep a close eye on Jackson's recruitment in the coming days. He has a planned trip to Ole Miss starting on Friday, but it would not be a surprise if that trip doesn't happen and he's committed to Alabama before we get to the weekend.
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