Ahead of a massive matchup in the Rose Bowl with a trip to the National Championship on the line the Alabama Football program is battling the Michigan Wolverines on the recruiting trail. The battle is over the top prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, Michigan native Bryce Underwood. Underwood visited Tuscaloosa a week before Christmas ahead of his scheduled January 6th, commitment date. While the recruitment would be far from over Alabama Football would be in a great place if Underwood committed. Alabama football is already off to a fast start for 2025 despite losing Ryan Williams to the class of 2024. Alabama Football has a 2025 class with seven hard commitments after losing Ryan Williams to the class of 2024 and Antonio Coleman who flipped to Auburn a few days ago.
The Alabama-Michigan rivalry is starting to heat up, especially as the programs battle on the recruiting trail. Underwood would be a massive get for the Crimson Tide recruiting wise although personally, I wouldn't expect the Tide to land the top quarterback. The commitment of Julian Sayin likely sets up a two-year roadblock for Underwood which in the NIL era may push him to a school with less of a commitment at quarterback.
Should the Alabama Football program land Underwood this early in the process it would do wonders for them in recruiting. Many of the nation's top playmakers would flock to Alabama to align themselves with one of the nation's top quarterback recruits. It would also potentially push recruits from the state of Michigan who've played with or against Underwood into considering heading South for their college careers.
Alabama Football: No Breaks for the coaching staff
College Football unlike any other sport truly has no time off and no true offseason. The Alabama football coaching staff currently has the duties of preparing for a college football playoff game, recruiting players for 2024, recruiting players for 2025, recruiting from the transfer portal, and trying to keep its own players from hitting the transfer portal. The introduction of NIL and immediate transfer rules have made coaching college football even harder than it's been for coaches making the sport a year-round event.