Kalen DeBoer adds much-needed WR depth with last-minute addition to the 2026 class

Much of the 2026 recruiting class has already enrolled and arrived on campus. Some, after transferring in the Transfer Portal window, are already at their second school. Yet, Kalen DeBoer has managed to make a significant addition to Alabama’s 2026 class, landing Maurice Mathis Jr. out of Houston County High School in Georgia. 

Mathis is a zero-star recruit in the 2026 class, but does hold an offer from Vanderbilt and multiple Group of Six programs, including James Madison, Memphis, and USF. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound pass-catcher is a precise route-runner with good hands. Alabama offered Mathis on Friday, and he committed two days later. 

Alabama lands commitment from zero-star WR Maurice Mathis Jr. 

Mathis is the second WR in Alabama’s 2026 class, which ranks No. 2 in the country. Though he’s a zero-star player, Mathis is an important part of the class as the Crimson Tide’s second receiver behind five-star Cederian Morgan. 

DeBoer and general manager Courtney Morgan have done well to address most of Alabama’s needs through the transfer portal, but the wide receiver room is still relatively thin in Tuscaloosa. Germie Bernard is heading to the NFL after exhausting his final year of eligibility, and Isaiah Horton left for Texas A&M in the transfer portal after spending one year with the Tide. 

DeBoer and Morgan attempted to replace Bernard and Horton with Auburn transfer Cam Coleman, but lost out to Texas in their pursuit. They did manage to acquire NC State transfer Noah Rogers former highly-touted recruit in his own right, with two years of production in Raleigh after leaving Ohio State, but that still leaves DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb with a thin group. 

It’s unlikely Mathis cracks a rotation destined to feature Ryan Williams, Rogers, Lotzeir Brooks, and Cederian Morgan, among others, if they all stay healthy, but if Alabama has injury issues, the zero-star recruit could quickly hear his number called in his true freshman season. 

As for his zero-star rating, it’s a bit underwhelming. However, DeBoer and Morgan have done an excellent job identifying underrated high school talent through their two seasons in Tuscaloosa, especially at the wide receiver position. Brooks is one of the prime examples. As a three-star true freshman, he carved out an important role and was the best player on the field in the Tide’s first-round College Football Playoff win over Oklahoma. 

It’s unfair to predict Mathis to make that kind of impact in Year 1, or even at any point during his Alabama tenure, but it is fair to be optimistic about a player that DeBoer and Morgan believe in, regardless of what the recruiting industry says, because they’ve earned that trust from the fanbase.