Just because Nick Saban is retired, it doesn't mean the fierce rivalry on the gridiron and the recruiting trail between Alabama and Georgia is over. While another classic could be in store on the field in September in Athens, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Georgia's Kirby Smart are locked in a tight battle with a blue-chip prospect from North Oconee in the Peach State.
4-star edge rusher Khamari Brooks announced on Wednesday that he was down to two schools. Those schools, predictably, being the Tide and Bulldogs.
BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE Khamari Brooks is down to Alabama and Georgia, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 11, 2025
The 6’4 235 EDGE from Bogart, GA has cancelled his remaining Official Visits to Texas & USC
Where Should He Go? ⬇️https://t.co/vJ04OVIUTk pic.twitter.com/6b1m6PAr0W
Brooks took an official visit to Georgia at the end of May and visited Alabama last weekend. He had officials set up with USC and Texas over the next two weeks but has decided to cancel those and instead focus solely on his two leading contenders.
Brooks doesn't have a decision date set, but all signs point toward a decision being imminent. Alabama had a lot of ground to make up heading into his official visit last weekend in Tuscaloosa, and it sounds like the Crimson Tide made a significant push, making his recruitment a true toss-up.
Brooks is rated as the No. 13 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 112 ranked player in the country, per the 247 composite rankings.
Can Kalen DeBoer beat Kirby Smart again?
Smart, and plenty of other pundits around college football, figured DeBoer wouldn't be able to keep pace on the trail. With Saban gone, Smart was assumed to have recruiting - and the gridiron - locked down.
Instead, DeBoer led Alabama to a head-to-head win last September over Smart's Bulldogs. DeBoer also won some recruiting battles over Smart for coveted in-state prospects in the 2025 class, such as LB Duke Johnson, TE Marshall Pritchett, and LB Luke Metz.
That's not to mention national recruits like 5-star IOL Michael Carroll.
In the 2026 cycle, DeBoer has already landed the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia in 5-star CB Jorden Edmonds. Alabama is also in a good spot for the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia, 5-star LB Xavier Griffin.
If DeBoer can wander east and steal the top two prospects from the state of Georgia right out from under Smart's nose, to go along with potentially knocking off the Bulldogs in Athens to go to 2-0 head-to-head, it will go a long way in getting DeBoer and the Crimson Tide back on top of the SEC.