Alabama will turn to these targets following Cincere Johnson's commitment to OSU

Alabama made a valiant effort, but the Glenville-to-Ohio State pipeline proved to be too strong as 4-star LB Cincere Johnson announced his commitment to the Buckeyes on Thursday. He chose Ohio State over finalists Alabama and Penn State. The Crimson Tide were widely considered the runner-up in his recruitment.

Kalen DeBoer and company always knew it was going to be an uphill battle to pull Johnson out of his home state, but this staff has proven to be unafraid to go into hostile recruiting environments to try and land players they covet.

It worked last year when Alabama pulled Justin Hill out of Ohio State's backyard. It has already worked in this cycle with Alabama landing the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia: CB Jorden Edmonds.

Even after signing a big crop of linebackers last year, the position remains an area of need for the Crimson Tide. Its top three off-ball linebackers on the current roster - Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green - are all entering their final season of eligibility.

With Johnson off the board, let's take a look at Alabama's remaining LB targets in the 2026 class.

Alabama can still land some of the nation's top LB prospects

Note: This list does not include 5-star Anthony "Tank" Jones, who is one of Alabama's top overall targets. Jones projects as an edge rusher at the next level.

Xavier Griffin

Alabama's top target at LB in this class is 5-star Xavier Griffin from Gainesville, Georgia. Alabama has been at the top of his list since he decommitted from USC.

It looks to be a three-way battle for the elite LB prospect between Alabama, Texas, and Ohio State. Florida State could throw a monkey wrench into his recruitment as they are scheduled to host him this weekend.

Griffin has been recruited as an on-ball LB, but the Jihaad Campbell comparisons make it seem obvious that he will be used similarly to Campbell in that he could play both on and off-ball LB spots to take advantage of his athleticism.

Griffin is slated to announce his commitment on June 29th.

Brayden Rouse

Another Georgia product, Brayden Rouse is a consensus 4-star prospect who visited Alabama over the final weekend of May. He has taken other officials to Michigan and Texas, and will finish his summer tour in Knoxville this weekend to check out Tennessee.

The Vols have been seen as the favorite, but with Johnson off the board and the uncertainty around Griffin, Alabama could make a bigger push here.

Nick Abrams

Alabama could ultimately land two elite prospects from Maryland in this class with Nick Abrams and safety Jireh Edwards. Edwards has been predicted to land in the Crimson Tide's class while Abrams' recruitment is still very much up in the air.

Abrams is fresh off an official visit to Tuscaloosa last weekend, and reports from it were all positive. He previously visited Georgia and Michigan, and he will finish his summer visits this weekend at Oregon.

Abrams has his commitment scheduled for July 16th.

Anthony Davis Jr.

While Auburn has been seen by many as the favorite for Anthony Davis, Alabama has the chance to make the final impression this weekend. Davis is part of a loaded crop of official visitors descending upon Tuscaloosa this weekend.

Davis has visited Auburn, Ole Miss, and Michigan recently. Davis doesn't have a commitment date scheduled, and Alabama's push for him could be contingent on what happens with others.

Karon Maycock

Alabama has been working to flip Karon Maycock from his commitment to Florida State. The 3-star LB took an official visit to Tuscaloosa last weekend, and it went well enough that he announced he would make an official decision between Alabama, Florida, and Florida State on July 7th:

Florida State will try to lock him down this weekend as he takes an official visit to Tallahassee.

Zay Hall

Zay Hall hasn't been recruited heavily to this point, but he's a local kid who has started to generate interest from the Alabama coaching staff playing at nearby Hillcrest High School. Hall doesn't have a commitable offer from the Crimson Tide yet, but he will be on campus this weekend for an official visit and could be given the green light.

It isn't known how many on-ball linebackers Alabama is willing to take in this class. They signed three in last year's class, and could ultimately look to sign a similar number this year, particularly if one of them is Griffin with his positional versatility.