Kalen DeBoer and Alabama add to 2027 recruiting class with high-upside in-state OL

Things have been pretty quiet on the 2027 recruiting trail for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama, but it has been heating up in recent weeks. The Crimson Tide are looking to add a handful of prospects to their smaller-than-normal (by design) 2027 class.

They landed one on Monday, their 16th commitment in this cycle.

Oxford native Xavier Endicott, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive lineman, announced his commitment to Alabama on Monday after taking his official visit to Tuscaloosa over the weekend for the Texas A&M game:

Alabama lands a commitment from in-state OL Xavier Endicott

Alabama offered Endicott recently, and his recruitment moved fast. He's unranked on the major recruiting sites, but he has the size and physical tools that make him a high-upside player for the Crimson Tide after a couple of years of development.

His 247 page lists his only other offer from Murray State. Considering his size and athletic ability, that's a bit surprising, but he was a late bloomer. He was listed at 240 pounds coming into his senior season at Oxford and is now up to 280. That's a substantial difference.

Endicott was recruited as a center by Alabama. He has the athletic ability, judging from his Hudl tape, to get out and move, which is a must for centers in DeBoer and Ryan Grubb's run scheme. That's something that Racin Delgatty does a really good job of, and it's no coincidence that Alabama's run game has struggled with him out for the last two games. Mal Waldrep doesn't have that same athletic ability.

Endicott might. He's not going to be an instant solution by any means. He's a guy who is going to have to sit back and develop before he's ready to play any kind of meaningful snaps at this level. That's okay.

Endicott is a developmental prospect and one that doesn't cost more than a scholarship. With scholarship limits up to 105 now, you're going to take some swings on under-recruited prospects, particularly ones from your own backyard.

Every now and then you'll get a steal. I think Endicott has the chance to be a steal. He's got good tape at a big school in the state. He's not playing against scrubs at Oxford every week. He's a low-risk, high-reward type of prospect that Alabama obviously really liked with how aggressively they began pursuing him.

Endicott is the second offensive lineman to commit to Alabama in the 2027 class, joining fellow in-state lineman Stafford Willis out of Arab.

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