Kalen DeBoer has constructed elite high school recruiting classes during his brief tenure in Tuscaloosa. However, he’s also built a reputation as a slow starter in each cycle. Alabama was lagging into the summer last offseason, and with just six commits in tow, it’s the same story this time around.
The slow starts are no longer cause for concern, and neither is Wednesday’s recruiting loss to Syracuse for three-star tight end Michael Nnabuife, who chose the Orange or Maryland, NC State, Kentucky, and the Tide when he announced his commitment from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
BREAKING: 2027 TE Michael Nnabuife (@mikennabuife) has committed to Syracuse over finalists Alabama, Kentucky and Maryland. He discusses his decision with @BrianDohn247 in the link below.
— Mike McAllister (@McAllisterMike1) May 20, 2026
🔗: https://t.co/5lNIPhsMPb pic.twitter.com/OWyWxn5QqM
The 6-foot-5, 242-pound tight end prospect took an unofficial visit to Alabama for the Oklahoma game last season and scheduled an official visit to Tuscaloosa for June 5, but it’s clear that he wasn’t a priority for DeBoer and general manager Courtney Morgan.
3-star tight end Michael Nnabuife chooses Syracuse over Alabama after interest waned
In February, when Nnabuife announced his scheduled official visit to Alabama, he told TouchdownAlabama, “I hear from them all the time... We talk pretty regularly. They are making sure I get there and letting me know this is the program they feel I should be, where I can maximize my potential, and especially with my former teammate Jireh (Edwards) going there, I get a lot of the inside scoop, but the coaching staff is great.”
While the Edwards connection is still there for Nnabuife, the buzz surrounding his recruitment to the Tide has waned in the months since. With the lack of reporting around Nnabuife’s recruitment to Alabama, it’s fair to question why the Tide were considered a finalist at all.
There isn’t much certainty surrounding this situation, but at times, recruits and opposing programs will keep Alabama or schools of similar stature in the mix long after they’ve removed themselves from the proceedings to add to the commit’s cachet.
Alabama has higher-priority tight end targets to consider
Nnabuife is the 1,013th-ranked recruit in the country by 247SportsComposite and the 54th-ranked tight end. Tight end has been a position that Alabama has prioritized with the addition of Colt Lumpris, a composite four-star and the 289th overall player, and Oakley Keegan, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound tight end from Upstate New York. Keegan is the 1,272nd-ranked player in the class.
The Tide have been in pursuit of four-star Malik Howard, the 216th-ranked recruit in the country and the 11th-ranked tight end, in a very crowded race. There are also upcoming official visits scheduled with four-star tight ends Sam Faniel and George Lamons.
After bringing in four-star tight end Kaleb Edwards in the 2025 class and Mack Sutter in 2026, Alabama seems to be ramping up the volume of its tight end recruiting under new tight ends coach Richard Owens. Owens has an offensive line background, so heavier personnel with more tight ends on the field could be part of the program’s vision to improve a run game that was abysmal last season.
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