Fresh off a big recruiting weekend for Junior Day, Kalen DeBoer and company have made in-roads with some of the nation's most talented prospects in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
On Thursday that continued as 5-star TE Kaiden Prothro, the No. 2 TE in the country per the 247 composite rankings, announced that Alabama made his final five via On3's Hayes Fawcett.
It'll be an all-SEC battle for the blue-chip tight end. Joining Alabama as finalists are Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Texas.
NEWS: Elite 2026 TE Kaiden Prothro is down to 5️⃣ Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 6, 2025
The 6’7 210 TE from Bowdon, GA is ranked as a Top 32 Recruit in the ‘26 Class (per On3)
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/pYzOMXRZbq pic.twitter.com/oEl76DfpBR
Prothro is a tight end in the mold of Caleb Odom, whom the Tide staff targeted in the last recruiting cycle and signed in hopes of him playing as a big-bodied wide receiver. Odom didn't play much as a freshman and ultimately transferred to Ole Miss this offseason.
But it's obvious that DeBoer and company have an affinity for bigger bodies in the receiver room. Prothro received an early offer from the new Crimson Tide staff last March. He has yet to take an official visit to Alabama, but with the Crimson Tide landing in his top five it seems to only be a matter of time before he gets on campus.
Prothro has one official visit set up already and that is a trip to Gainesville to visit Florida on the weekend of June 13th.
Alabama signed two tight ends in the 2025 class in 4-stars Kaleb Edwards and Marshall Pritchett. The position group remains a need after Alabama lost both CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts to graduation. Washington transfer Josh Cuevas will be entering his final season of eligibility this season.
Alabama will have its work cut out for them to pull Prothro out of Georgia. The competition among the final five teams is fierce with everyone boasting a healthy NIL budget and plenty of surrounding talent to entice the blue-chip prospect.