Increasing the talent level of the RB room has been a major priority for Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama staff.
After signing two impactful players in the 2026 class - 5-star EJ Crowell and 3-star gem Trae'Shawn Brown - DeBoer and company are looking to sign two more running backs in the 2027 class.
Alabama would like to keep six running backs in the RB room at all times, and App State transfer Khalifa Keith is in his final year of eligibility, and you have to feel that there's a strong possibility that someone will leave via the Transfer Portal after this season, particularly with both Crowell and Brown looking more than capable of taking carries away from upperclassmen.
There appear to be four candidates to fill the two spots: Nigel Newkirk, Trey Martin, Tai Phillips, and Kingston Miles.
While Alabama looks to be in strong shape for all four at this point, they won't land them all, though all four are currently scheduled for official visits. On3/Rivals VP Steve Wiltfong logged expert predictions on Monday for the Crimson Tide to land two of those targets.
Steve Wiltfong logs expert predictions for Alabama to land Nigel Newkirk and Tai Phillips
Alabama will look to close the deal with Gainesville's Newkirk this weekend. The Georgia native will be on campus for his official visit, the first of four he has lined up for this summer. After visiting Alabama, he plans to visit LSU, Ohio State, and Michigan. DeBoer and his staff will look to close the deal on him this weekend and get him to shut things down.
Newkirk will see friendly faces in Tuscaloosa with his high school teammates, Xavier Griffin and Jamarion Matthews, both early enrollees for the Crimson Tide. Newkirk has shot up the rankings in the last six months in the aftermath of an impressive junior season where he averaged over eight yards per carry and produced 1496 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
In terms of underrated prospects in the 2027 class, there might not be one flying under the radar more than Tai Phillips, who is a consensus 3-star and the No. 848 overall player in the composite rankings. Alabama likes Phillips a lot and has made him a priority the entire time. Even with higher-ranked guys on the board in Martin and Miles, the expectation is that the Crimson Tide would take a commitment from Phillips the moment he's ready to give it.
Alabama holds the lead for the South Carolina native heading into official visit season. He has visits scheduled over the next two weekends with Virginia Tech and Florida State before he comes to Tuscaloosa on June 12th.
Phillips has game-breaking speed and would be a great compliment to Newkirk in this class. Newkirk isn't slow by any means, but they have styles that would fit together nicely. Phillips only played in seven games as a junior, but he still racked up 919 yards on the ground with 12 touchdowns on just under eight yards per carry.
Adding Newkirk and Phillips to the RB room that already features talented youngsters in Crowell and Brown - and perhaps AK Dear if he sticks around - would certainly increase the talent level in the backfield like DeBoer has been aggressively trying to do.
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