Alabama's recent dominance on the recruiting trail has drawn the ire of rival fans. Those fans had convinced themselves that the Crimson Tide's reign of terror was over when the boogeyman retired. No way could Kalen DeBoer keep the ball rolling in Tuscaloosa, especially on the recruiting trail as an outsider in the south.
Alabama's disappointing 9-4 season in DeBoer's debut gave fuel to that fire. But DeBoer led Alabama to a Top 5 class in the 2025 cycle and has the Crimson Tide in line for another top class in 2026. After landing safety Jireh Edwards on Saturday, Alabama now has five 5-stars committed, three more than any other program.
In just a month's time, Alabama has moved from the No. 52 ranked class in the country all the way up to No. 3. But DeBoer getting credit for that recruiting run would be a step too far. Clearly, it's Saban who is still in charge of the recruiting efforts, getting so many top recruits to come to Tuscaloosa to not be coached by him.
All that chatter has reached the mother of a 5-star Alabama recruit, and she wasn't having it.
Let me make this clear for @zay_social recruitment when it come to Alabama. Makes me mad to hear @KalenDeBoer can’t recruit because our coach and his staff did a great job! I met Saban once but he is not the one that offered or talked to us at any point. @crob45 was and is the…
— Jay Clay (@bamamade87) July 6, 2025
She's the mother of Xavier Griffin, who committed to the Crimson Tide a week ago. She wants everyone to know that DeBoer - and OLB coach Christian Robinson - deserves the credit for luring Griffin to Tuscaloosa.
Saban was in town for Alabama's recruiting weekend of June 20th, spending a few hours in Tuscaloosa and taking photos with a few recruits. That allowed DeBoer and other members of the staff to sneak out of town for a few hours to attend the memorial service of Keelon Russell's sister. Those photos made the rounds on social media, and it fueled a ridiculous narrative of Saban still leading the charge at the Capstone.
Kalen DeBoer and his staff deserve the credit for Alabama's success on the trail
Saban is the best recruiter in the history of the sport. It would be foolish for DeBoer to not take advantage of that when Saban is around and willing to help. But the truth is that Saban is rarely around. He's playing golf, and during the season he's traveling the country with College GameDay.
The truth is that DeBoer can recruit, and he's assembled a staff of elite recruiters that can stack up against anyone in the country. As Griffin's mother indicated, Robinson has been outstanding. He was instrumental in Griffin's recruitment, and he's been instrumental in Alabama's pursuit of Tank Jones as well.
WR coach JaMarcus Shephard is as good as it gets. So is DB coach Maurice Linguist, who has once again landed an elite group in the secondary.
And then there's GM Courtney Morgan, who is proven as a talent evaluator and relationship-builder. He helped assemble championship-worthy rosters at Michigan and Washington before joining DeBoer at Alabama.
The results on the field will still have to come this fall, but the talent pipeline in Tuscaloosa isn't slowing down. It's okay to admit when you were wrong. It's time to give credit where it's due.