Paul Finebaum can be a controversial figure in SEC country, but whatever he says always makes waves. Whatever your thoughts are on Mr. Finebaum, Alabama fans will want to hear what he had to say about their head coach and his latest recruiting run.
NEW: Paul Finebaum on Kalen DeBoer's recruiting success at Alabama:
— On3 (@On3sports) June 30, 2025
“Quite frankly, this is one of the great recruiting runs we’ve seen in some years. It almost feels like Nick Saban is running the ship again when it comes to recruiting because this is vintage Alabama… pic.twitter.com/1Vy2QahE2t
Kalen DeBoer recruiting like Saban with latest run of five-stars
Alabama got off to a slow start in the 2026 recruiting cycle, but any concerns about DeBoer’s ability to assemble an elite class for the second year in a row were quelled in the past four days. Nine of Alabama’s 14 2026 commits have joined the fray since June 17, and the Tide stormed into the top 10 nationally after adding five-star running back Ezavier Crowell and four-star tight end Mack Sutter on Thursday, three-star linebacker Zay Hall on Friday, and five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin on Sunday.
Griffin is the piece who put the Tide’s recent run over the top, the 27th overall player in the 2026 class and one of the highest-rated recruits from the state of Georgia. It’s not easy to venture behind enemy lines and poach top talent away from Kirby Smart, but DeBoer is making a habit of it, landing five players from Georgia in 2026, including his two top-rated recruits: Griffin and five-star cornerback Jorden Edmonds.
When DeBoer arrived in Tuscaloosa following a two-year stint in Washington, with two years at Fresno State immediately prior to that, there were no questions about his in-game coaching acumen, offensive schematics, or quarterback development. There were, however, real concerns that he would not be able to recruit at an elite level in the SEC.
In 2023, DeBoer locked down the 26th-ranked recruiting class in the country for the Huskies, and his 2024 class ranked 47th but was impacted by his departure. So there wasn’t much proof that DeBoer could dominate on the recruiting trail. Yet, he’s taken to it like a duck to water, leveraging Alabama’s war chest of resources and general manager Courtney Morgan to produce Saban-level production on the recruiting trail.
With so much talent pouring into Tuscaloosa through DeBoer’s first two recruiting classes, he may have bought himself some good favor with the fanbase, boosters, and SEC media, but ultimately, if the results on gamedays don’t reach Saban levels or close, he may not be long for the job. If not championship-or-bust, DeBoer is certainly shackled by College Football Playoff-or-bust expectations in Year 2, so no matter how well he recruits for 2026, the pressure is on to win games in 2025.