This has not been a memorable recruiting cycle for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama fans. After the jubilance that the last two summers brought, the Crimson Tide has swung and missed at many of its top targets, which has been more noticeable than normal because of the smaller class Alabama is looking to sign.
Alabama will still bring some talent to Tuscaloosa, and the class is headlined by 5-star QB Elijah Haven, one of the top players in the country, but there's only a handful of true blue-chip players the Crimson Tide is in the thick of it for right now.
One of them is 4-star CB Hayden Stepp, whom Alabama has been considered the favorite for during most of his recruitment. But coming off a visit to Oregon on June 12th, the Ducks have surged ahead and now seem to be in the lead.
Recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong made that clear on Monday when he put in a prediction for Stepp to choose Oregon, according to the Rivals recruiting prediction machine.
Steve Wiltfong logs a prediction for Oregon to beat out Alabama for 4-star CB Hayden Stepp
Alabama appeared all-in for Stepp after backing out of the recruitment of 5-star John Meredith III, whom the Crimson Tide was a finalist for without being a real contender for his services. Stepp took his official visit to Alabama over the final weekend of May, and while the Tide appeared to make a strong impression, the threat of other visits was always prevalent.
Stepp took visits to both Oregon and Cal before cancelling his planned visit last weekend to Georgia, which was seen as a signal that he may be close to making up his mind.
Stepp is a Top 50 overall player in the 2027 class and hails from Las Vegas. He attends Bishop Gorman High School, the same school that produced current Tide WR Derek Meadows. It also produced 5-star safety Jett Washington, whom Alabama lost out to Oregon in last year's recruiting cycle. They more than made up for it by landing 5-star Jireh Edwards out of Maryland.
There isn't another player of Stepp's caliber that Alabama is in the mix for at this point. They did just land 3-star Darrius White on Sunday, and Maurice Linguist and company are extremely high on the Georgia native. He may not be quite on Stepp's level at this point, but he's certainly undervalued based on how coveted he was among SEC schools like Bama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Alabama will get a good share of good news this week on the recruiting trail with several prospects trending toward the Tide, but in a class that is lacking high-end talent, Stepp would certainly qualify as a significant miss.
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