Kalen DeBoer isn't likely to sign a Top 5 - or even Top 10 - recruiting class in this cycle. Contrary to what rival fans may have you believe, it's strictly because of numbers. Alabama isn't taking a big class this year. With only nine seniors on the roster following this past offseason that saw the Crimson Tide bring in 44 new players (27 high school recruits, 17 from the portal), there's just not going to be a lot of room for additions of Alabama has the roster retention it hopes for.
But perception is oftentimes viewed as reality, and the perception right now is that while Alabama is "struggling" on the recruiting trail, Auburn is surging under new head coach Alex Golesh.
The Tigers have picked up a rash of recent commitments and now rank inside the Top 20 of the 247 composite rankings for the 2027 class. Most notably, after a cycle in which Alabama dominated inside the state, the momentum has swung back toward Auburn in-state.
It's not a banner year for in-state recruits. There are no 5-stars in this cycle so far, and the highest-ranked player in the state from the composite rankings is No. 73 overall (Miami commit Ai'King Hall). But you always want to have a presence in your state, no matter what. As of right now, Alabama only has six total commitments in the 2027 class, and only two of them hail from the state of Alabama. Neither of which is among the Top 10 prospects.
Auburn also only has two commitments from in-state products, but both are ranked inside the Top 5 of the state rankings (Isaac McNeil and Donivan Moore).
The two programs are going head-to-head for several in-state prospects this summer. One of the biggest is 4-star safety Junior Tu'upo out of Thompson High School in Alabaster. He'll visit both programs, along with a few others, and plans to make his decision by the end of this month, per Touchdown Alabama Magazine.
Kalen DeBoer and Alabama need to beat Auburn for 4-star safety Junior Tu'upo
Safety is not really a need for Alabama in the 2027 class, but for the sake of optics, a head-to-head win over Auburn for a coveted in-state defensive back would be preferable. Alabama will lose both of its starters in Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb after this season, but has talented underclassmen in Zay Mincey, Ivan Taylor, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., and Jireh Edwards all waiting in the wings for their opportunities.
Tu'upo is currently the No. 11 player in the state composite rankings. Working in Alabama's favor is that his high school teammate, QB Trent Seaborn, is one of the headliners of the Tide's class and has undoubtedly been his ear about joining him in Tuscaloosa.
Tu'upo has a top five that includes Indiana, Oregon, and Texas to go along with Alabama and Auburn. He has already taken official visits to see the Hoosiers and Ducks. He'll see the Longhorns this weekend before finishing up his round of visits with the Tigers and Crimson Tide.
His visit to Auburn on June 12th looms large. Alabama is scheduled to have him in town on June 19th, but you can bet that Golesh and his staff will try to do whatever they can to lock him down and keep him from making the trip to the Capstone.
If Alabama can get him on campus for his scheduled visit, they'll have a good shot at winning this recruiting race.
It's certainly not the end of the world either way, but it would be nice to stop some Auburn momentum before it gets going too much.
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