With 22 signees, Kalen DeBoer and general manager Courtney Morgan’s 2026 recruiting class looked to be set in stone. However, the Crimson Tide added a late commitment on Sunday, the 94th-ranked JUCO player in the country, three-star defensive back Nick Sherman.
Sherman is a Tuscaloosa native who spent his last two seasons at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Mississippi. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound corner received an offer from Alabama on Thursday, and didn’t waste much time joining the 2026 class. Sherman also held offers from East Carolina, Idaho, FIU, UT Martin, and Nicholls, among others, Group of Six and FCS programs. The Crimson Tide was the first Power Conference program to offer the Northridge High School product.
BREAKING: JUCO CB Nick Sherman (@nickvibeez) has committed to Alabama.
— Crimson Coverage (@CrimsonCoverage) December 15, 2025
Sherman spent the past two seasons at Itawamba CC.
He is listed at 6-foot-2, 190 lbs. Alabama offered Sherman late last week and the Tuscaloosa native will be a member of the ‘26 class. pic.twitter.com/Jt7lVmig3V
Alabama adds Nick Sherman to 2026 recruiting class and DB room
Sherman is the 23rd member of the 2026 class, which now ranks No. 2 in the country according to 247Sports Composite, trailing only USC, and suddenly ahead of Oregon, which was contending for the top spot with the Trojans during the Early Signing Period in early December.
The top of the recruiting rankings has changed significantly in the NIL and revenue-sharing era, with the SEC surrendering its supremacy. The next highest-ranked SEC recruiting class in 2026 is Georgia at No. 5 before Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M slot in at No. 7, 8, and 9, respectively.
While this move will add depth to a cornerback room that will see Domani Jackson and DaShawn Jones play their final collegiate game at some point during Alabama’s College Football Playoff run this winter, it is also likely a reaction to the SEC’s vote earlier this month to drop its 85-scholarship limit, which went into place when the House settlement eliminated the NCAA’s 85-scholarship limit this past summer.
SEC programs, like the rest of the country, can now sign players up to the 105-player roster limit that the House settlement imposed, allowing the Tide space to take a flyer on a local JUCO talent like Sherman, who was second-team All-Mississippi Association of Community College Conferences in 2025.
Sherman will join five-star cornerback Jorden Edmonds and four-star Zyan Gibson in the 2026 class, a year after the Tide brought in five-star Dijon Lee Jr. and four-star Chuck McDonald III in the 2025 class.