Alabama ‘setting the pace’ with 5-star WR Kalen DeBoer can’t miss out on

Alabama has not proven itself to be one of the true deep-pocketed power brokers of the NIL era. Instead, the Tide have missed out on top talent in the Transfer Portal and have routinely opted to build through high school recruiting rather than paying the premium for proven commodities. 

That’s both a reality of their financial situation and the team-building philosophy of DeBoer and Courtney Morgan, who choose to allocate their resources to building top-five classes. It also means that Alabama can’t make up for recruiting mistakes as easily with portal replacements, so when they set their sights on a blue-chip recruit, they can’t afford to miss. 

In the 2027 class, one of those blue-chip players in five-star wide receiver Monshun Sales. Though the 6-foot-5 playmaker plays his high school football at Lawrence North in Indianapolis, he’s an Alabama native, and according to Steve Wiltfong of Rivals/On3, the Tide are “setting the pace” in his recruitment. 

Wiltfong also updated Alabama’s battle for five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, calling it a “dogfight” between the Tide and Florida, which has been surging since hiring Jon Sumrall and bringing a new staff into Gainesville. 

Alabama is in a good spot with Monshun Sales heading into official visit season

A lot can change once official visits occur. Sometimes, that’s when specific NIL deals are discussed between the program and the player, so it will mean more if the Tide can protect their lead with Sales after he takes trips to other programs. Still, it’s a good sign that DeBoer and Morgan are positioned so well at this point in the year because a year ago, they were off to a very slow start before rising into the top five nationally with a hot streak over the summer. 

It’s also critical because of the position Sales plays. This offseason, Alabama lost Germie Bernard to the NFL and Isaiah Horton to the Transfer Portal. DeBoer and Morgan attempted to fill that void with Cam Coleman from Auburn, but settled for Noah Rogers from NC State instead. 

Ryan Coleman-Williams will be eligible to enter the NFL draft after this season, and if he has the bounce-back junior year that many expect from him, he’ll be a likely first-round pick. Replacing him, especially if top portal talent like Coleman is out of Alabama’s price range, won’t be easy. 

Sales, however, is the type of recruit who could almost immediately step into a major role at the college level. He may not be a high-volume player right away because his route-tree was fairly limited as a junior, getting much of his production from vertical routes, but he still has a senior year to develop. Plus, even if he doesn’t add much to his game, at 6-foot-5 with ridiculously long strides and blazing speed, he’ll be able to shift the geometry of a defense from Day 1. 

Sales is a top priority for Alabama, so DeBoer and Morgan need to protect their lead in official visit season, and with Indiana also in the mix, that could be costly.