Alabama seemed to make a big impression with 5-star ATH Brandon Arrington over the weekend during his official visit to Tuscaloosa. That impression wasn't big enough.
Immediately following the visit, Arrington was quoted as saying that it would be "hard not to commit to Alabama." Apparently, it won't be as hard as he thought.
On Monday night, Arrington announced the two finalists in his recruitment would be Oregon and Texas A&M:
BREAKING: Five-Star CB Brandon Arrington is down to Oregon and Texas A&M, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 17, 2025
The No. 1 CB in the ‘26 Class will announce his Commitment on Thursday
Where Should He Go? ⬇️https://t.co/AHYhx3try2 pic.twitter.com/PtQylppcxA
It's not a coincidence that his two finalists are two of the programs that have thrown around the most NIL dollars in this era of college football. It was known for a while that if NIL was going to be the deciding factor, the Crimson Tide wouldn't be the program for Arrington.
Alabama already has two elite corners in this class: 5-star Jorden Edmonds and 4-star Zyan Gibson. Kalen DeBoer and company have also recently picked up a prediction from 5-star safety Jireh Edwards. They have spent the big money they are going to spend on the secondary in this cycle.
DeBoer and Alabama had seemingly moved on to other prospects before this announcement
Arrington was never viewed as a guy who was likely to end up in Alabama's class. His comments over the weekend brought a glimmer of hope as it looked like the Crimson Tide had made a move. But most experts thought the Ducks and the Aggies were the most likely suitors for his services.
It's not a coincidence that Alabama extended an offer recently to Georgia Tech commit Jaedyn Terry.
Discounting the Transfer Portal, Alabama is only likely to lose one corner after the 2025 season in senior Domani Jackson. Alabama has a lot of young, quality depth at the position with returning starter sophomore Zabien Brown, Utah transfer Cam Calhoun, and true freshmen Dijon Lee and Chuck McDonald.
Signing three corners in this class is likely to be the limit of what the Tide is looking for. The offer to Terry should have been an obvious signal that Arrington was likely to go elsewhere.
Arrington's decision certainly doesn't catch DeBoer and his staff off guard. They were prepared for him to end up somewhere else, but they obviously took their shot with the elite prospect over the weekend, as they should have.
This is still shaping up to be an elite class for the Crimson Tide, perhaps once again headlined by a talented crop of defensive backs.