Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football are finally picking up some momentum on the recruiting trail for the 2026 cycle. The last couple of months Alabama has held just one commitment in the class. Now, they've landed two more commitments in less than 24 hours.
4-star Edge rusher Jamarion Matthews announced his commitment to Alabama on Friday. Matthews is a top-200 player nationally in the 247 composite rankings and is ranked as the No. 17 edge in his class. He will get a first look at Alabama at the Bandit position in Kane Wommack's defensive scheme.
BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE Jamarion Matthews has Committed to Alabama, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 21, 2025
The 6’3 250 EDGE from Gainesville, FL chose the Crimson Tide over Florida State, LSU, & Clemson
“I don’t give a p*** about nothing but the TIDE🐘”https://t.co/VXh1QPAueC pic.twitter.com/gMxNgrXJt1
Matthews chose Alabama over offers from Auburn, Arkansas, Clemson, and Florida. He had recently earned offers from LSU and Florida State last month, too. The 6'2", 240-pound Edge is Alabama's third commitment in the 2026 class.
On Thursday, Alabama added a commitment from an under-the-radar IOL prospect, Chris Booker. Booker and Matthews join 4-star CB Zyan Gibson in the Tide's 2026 class which is building some serious momentum with plenty of official visits on the horizon and more blue-chip prospects expected to join the class in the coming months.
An increased focus on in-state recruiting for Kalen DeBoer
At the end of the day, Matthews won't count as an in-state recruit, even though he is one. Matthews grew up in Harvest, Alabama, but is transferring to Gainesville, Georgia for his senior year of high school. His decision to commit to the Crimson Tide is further proof that DeBoer and the staff are pushing hard for more of an in-state flavor to the 2026 class.
Alabama signed a highly-rated recruiting class in 2025, but the one knock on it is they missed on all the top talent in the state of Alabama. The Tide only signed two players in the state last cycle, and neither of them were among the 10 best players in the state according to the composite rankings.
Alabama has already landed CB Zyan Gibson and is in good shape with a plethora of other in-state prospects. The top two players in the state for 2026 - WR Cederian Morgan and Edge Anthony Jones - are heavily considering Alabama and the Crimson Tide appears to be in good shape with both.