Let's recap the week so far for the Alabama Crimson Tide:
Alabama flips Iowa State 4-star QB Jett Thomalla
Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide has their QB in the 2026 class. On Tuesday, Jett Thomalla officially flipped his commitment from Iowa State to Alabama. Thomalla, a 4-star QB from Omaha, Nebraska, was the top QB on Alabama's board in this class.
Alabama had recently turned up the heat in search of a QB in the '26 class. Along with Thomalla, Alabama had pursued two-sport star Matt Ponatoski, and recently dolled out offers to Tayden Kaawa and Bryson Beaver.
Alabama is almost certainly out on Ponatoski now, but they would still like to add a second QB in this class, if possible. Kaawa is still expected to be in Tuscaloosa this weekend for a visit. Thomalla is expected to join, as he stated previously he would come for an official visit if he made the flip.
Jorden Edmonds tells Kirby Smart and UGA no
5-star Alabama commitment Jorden Edmonds is solid with his pledge to the Tide. Kirby Smart and Georgia have been working hard to try and get him to come to Athens for an official visit this weekend, the last visit weekend of the summer before the dead period begins.
Edmonds is the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia, and it makes sense for Smart and the Bulldogs to put on a full-court press in hoping of changing his mind. Unfortunately for them, Edmonds has rebuffed their overtures. He officially decided not to go on a visit to Georgia this weekend, instead choosing to stay home.
Edmonds has been a vocal part of this Tide class, and spent the last two weekends in Tuscaloosa helping to recruit other players to Alabama.
Alabama cancels visit with 5-star WR Tristen Keys
There was some recruiting drama yesterday with 5-star WR Tristen Keys. It was announced early on Tuesday that Keys would not be coming to Tuscaloosa for his mid-week visit to Alabama as initially planned. Most assumed that it was Keys choosing to cancel the visit and focusing on other schools.
Instead, according to Keys himself, it was Alabama that told him not to come on his visit.
Why would Alabama tell Keys to stay home? My thoughts are purely speculative, but Keys has never felt like a realistic option for the Tide in this class. He's already committed to LSU, and he's going to command a big NIL payday - reportedly somewhere in the range of $500,000-$1 million for his freshman season.
So why waste resources on a player you know you aren't going to pay that kind of money? Plus, now the staff can tell Cederian Morgan on his visit this weekend that they canceled the Keys visit and are 100% focused on him as the headliner of this class at receiver.
Alabama is no longer in the running for 5-star Brandon Arrington
Speaking of recruitments with heavy NIL influence, coming off an official visit to Alabama over the weekend, and despite glowing comments about the Crimson Tide, Alabama didn't make the final two for 5-star ATH Brandon Arrington, who cut his list down to Oregon and Texas A&M as he approaches his final decision.
Arrington always seemed like a long shot for Alabama, especially after Alabama landed Jorden Edmonds and Zyan Gibson at corner. It's not a coincidence that Arrington's two finalists are the two programs that have probably spent the most money in NIL during this era of college football.
Oddsmakers not sold on Alabama baskeball for 2025-26
Football recruiting has obviously dominated the headlines, but we did get a little bit of basketball "news" on Tuesday.
FanDuel released its National Championship odds for 2025-26, and the Crimson Tide's positioning may be a little surprising. Despite the best three year run in the history of the program, which included an SEC Championship double (regular season and tournament), a No. 1 overall seed, three straight Sweet 16s, back-to-back Elite 8s, and the program's first ever Final Four in 2024, losing Mark Sears and Grant Nelson has Vegas in a wait-and-see approach with all the roster turnover in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama opens at +3500 to win the title, giving Nate Oats and his program the 18th-best odds to cut down the nets.
Flying under the radar is nothing new for the Crimson Tide. Despite what Vegas thinks, I'm bullish on the potential of this team with Labaron Philon returning.