Alabama appears to have jumped out ahead in the recruitment of fast-rising defensive line prospect Franklin Whitley. The 3-star prospect from Greenville, South Carolina has already taken a trip to Tuscaloosa and has an official visit scheduled for the end of the month.
Whitley, a 6-foot-7, 260-pounder who is currently playing his first year of football since he was in grade school, has spent most of his recent years playing basketball. Despite that, he has an impressive list of offers, including Auburn, Clemson, Florida State and South Carolina. Whitley recently scheduled an official visit to FSU for this weekend.
Alabama OV locked in for the 6-foot-7 DL target following the trip to Tuscaloosa over the weekend. https://t.co/RT4dNcYvwp https://t.co/WjaqUL5Ibi
— Brett Greenberg (@BrettGreenberg_) October 5, 2025
The Crimson Tide currently have the No. 3 class in the country according to 247Sports. They already have a tremendous defensive line class led by 5-star edge rusher Xavier Griffin and four-star lineman Nolan Wilson, who is projected to play more of an interior role.
Whitley would be the third projected interior lineman in the class, but he has a different athletic profile than the other prospects. His size and length alone put him in the upper percentile of trench monsters and his footwork from playing basketball adds to Whitley's unique skill set.
Check out new Alabama DL offer Franklin Whitley.
— Brett Greenberg (@BrettGreenberg_) September 25, 2025
Auburn, Georgia Tech & Virginia Tech have also offered this month.
2026 prospect, who is 6-foot-7, has visited Georgia Tech & Clemson this fall. pic.twitter.com/iddWvqh6ai
Whitley has the things you can't teach
Given this is Whitley's first season playing football since the 5th grade, he is a bit of an unknown. His basketball highlights are extremely impressive given his size, and the early clips from his football season show a prospect that is very athletic and not afraid to be physical.
Forget the rankings and the stars for a second, because Whitley probably isn't going to boost Bama's recruiting rankings into the top three. But a player like this has the sort of things you can't teach — size, length, natural athleticism.
Whitley probably isn't a prospect that would be an immediate contributor, but with the right development and patience, he could be a high-upside athletic marvel that has NFL potential. In the NIL era, most teams will have to take a few players that are "under the radar" and need a year or two of seasoning.