Alabama suffered a blow to its 2027 recruiting class over the weekend when 4-star TE Colt Lumpris, who committed to the Crimson Tide back in December, flipped his commitment to Michigan just six days before he was set to arrive on campus for his official visit to Tuscaloosa.
Kalen DeBoer and Alabama are looking to take two tight ends in this class. They still hold a commitment from 3-star Oakley Keegan, but he's more of an in-line blocking TE. Alabama wants another versatile, pass-catching option.
In the aftermath of Lumpris' flip to the Wolverines, Alabama has a clear target to push the chips in the middle of the table for.
That's 4-star Malik Howard from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who happens to be scheduled for an official visit to Alabama this weekend.
Kalen DeBoer and Alabama need to give Malik Howard the red-carpet treatment
This is the biggest recruiting weekend of the summer for Alabama football. 5-star targets like Monshun Sales and Hayden Stepp will be on campus, along with a bevy of other blue-chip prospects. Howard will be among them, and the Crimson Tide will get the first crack at him during his cycle.
Howard has plenty of suitors, and he has visits to Tennessee and Notre Dame on the docket, with Miami and Texas A&M hoping to get him to campus, too. Alabama would love nothing more than to lock him down this weekend and have those other visits no longer take place.
The Crimson Tide holds a slim lead for Howard on the Rivals RPM heading into his visits. But there's a lot of recruiting to be done for the 6-foot-3.5 , 231 pound prospect. How big of a push Alabama was making for Howard to this point isn't entirely known, but there's no doubt that DeBoer and company cranked up the heat in recent weeks with Lumpris' commitment looking less than solid.
Howard is coming off a tremendous junior season where he put up 778 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has an impressive 6-foot-10 wingspan according to 247, which makes his height much less of a concern thanks to his outstanding catch radius.
Howard is ranked as the No. 215 overall player in his class, and the No. 11 TE in the composite rankings.
DeBoer and company have done excellent work in the last two cycles of stockpiling talent in the TE room with Kaleb Edwards, Marshall Pritchett, and Mack Sutter. Adding Howard to go along with Keegan in the 2027 class would be a continuation of those efforts.
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