Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football are working hard on the 2026 recruiting class coming off signing a Top-5 class in the 2025 cycle. The Tide is a little behind in the 2026 cycle at the moment with only a single commitment in 4-star CB Zyan Gibson from Gadsden.
Alabama held its annual Junior Day event in Tuscaloosa over the weekend with a plethora of blue chip recruits in town to check out the program. Early returns have been extremely positive from the event/
According to On3 (subscription required), Alabama left the weekend in good shape with three 5-star recruits.
WR Tristen Keys, ATH Brandon Arrington, and edge rusher Anthony Jones all left Tuscaloosa impressed with what they saw.
Keys is one of the top receivers in the nation from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He's ranked as the No. 2 WR in the country in the 247 composite rankings. WR JaMarcus Shepherd has built a great relationship with Keys. With Shepherd's track record of developing receivers and DeBoer's wide open offense, Alabama is intriguing for Keys.
Arrington could play either WR or CB at the next level but reportedly prefers corner. Alabama's California-connection, particularly in the secondary, is helping its push for Arrington.
Domani Jackson, Zabien Brown, Dijon Lee, and Chuck McDonald are all from California. Arrington is from Spring Valley and has built-in relationships with those guys already.
Jones is the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama according to the composite rankings. He might be the most important recruit who left Junior Day thinking highly of the Crimson Tide. Alabama signed a great class in the 2025 cycle, but only two players were from the state. Auburn dominated the in-state recruits, signing eight of the top 10.
DeBoer and company want to flip that narrative in this cycle, and they've put a lot of focus in the state so far. Jones is from Mobile and his recruitment will likely come down to the Crimson Tide and the Tigers, though both Clemson and LSU are making a big push for him.