Kalen DeBoer flips Syracuse commitment to gain much-needed recruiting momentum

This weekend hasn't featured the same kind of high-end talent on official visits as it did last weekend, but it has so far proven to be just as fruitful.

Alabama landed a commitment last weekend from 4-star RB Nigel Newkirk and has now landed another commitment this weekend.

3-star TE Michael Nnabuife, who committed to Syracuse just a couple of weeks ago, flipped his commitment on Saturday to Alabama:

Syracuse TE commitment Michael Nnabuife flips to Alabama while on official visit

The door for Nnabuife to be in Alabama's class came back open following Colt Lumpris' decision to flip from Alabama to Michigan. Nnabuie's commitment to Syracuse flew under the radar a couple of weeks ago for Crimson Tide fans because Kalen DeBoer and company weren't really actively pursuing him.

Alabama and Nnabuife had been in consistent communication for a while during his recruitment, but following the commitment of Lumpris and Oakley Keegan, there simply wasn't room for a third TE in a 2027 class that is expected to be significantly smaller than recent cycles.

But the door reopened when Lumpris flipped. Alabama had two options at TE both on campus this weekend with Nnabuie and Tennessee native Colton Johnson. It appeared that whoever was ready and willing to commit first might be the second tight end the Crimson Tide took.

Nnabuife is a Baltimore native and plays at St. Frances Academy, which has been a fruitful pipeline for Alabama over the years. The Tide landed 5-star safety Jireh Edwards out of St. Frances in the last cycle, and has landed players such as Chris Braswell from there in years past.

Nnabuife becomes Alabama's 7th commitment in the 2027 recruiting class. He won't move the needle as much as others would have, but he's a good player who, at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds, already projects as the blocking, in-line type TE that you always need.

DeBoer and company needed some momentum on the trail. There will be other big names who join the Tide's class, but it's an uncomfortable feeling for Alabama fans to be sitting with a recruiting class ranked in the 50's in the composite rankings in June. There's a long way between now and the early signing period, though.

It may not seem like it, but this class is probably pretty close to halfway wrapped up already. The magic number feels somewhere around 15 in this cycle. That might look small, but it's important to remember that this team only has nine seniors. Alabama signed 27 high schoolers in the last cycle and added 17 portal additions. They will look to retain as much of the roster as they can this offseason while being a little more aggressive than normal in the Transfer Portal.

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