The Alabama Football team has added another talented recruit, landing a commitment from Four-Star Linebacker Dawson Merritt. The Crimson Tide won out in the recruitment of Merritt against Nebraska, the other team in Merritt's 'final two'. Merritt is ranked as the 99th-ranked player overall in the country and the 7th-ranked linebacker according to On3 Sports. Landing Merrit is another massive win for Kalen DeBoer and his staff as they currently hold the Nation's fourth-ranked recruiting class.
Picking up Merritt is massive for the Alabama Football team as Merritt can play a few different roles in the defense. In High School, he's been used more as an edge rusher but, he's shown an ability to drop into coverage with outstanding range. For the Alabama Football team, Merritt can fit in as either a middle linebacker, edge rusher, or traditional outside linebacker.
Merritt comes from a football family as his father David Merritt spent four years in the NFL as a player and is entering his 28th year as a coach winning five Super Bowls with the Giants and the Chiefs where he's currently a coach.
The new coaching staff made a massive push for Dawson Merritt down the stretch hosting him on three visits since March. Merritt gave an update on his recruitment before his final visit saying the following:
"I mean, its Alabama, the player development they have there, the guys they send to the league. I love everything about the program."Dawson Merritt
According to On3, Merritt is the fifth-ranked player in Alabama's recruiting class and the fifth top 100 player in Kalen DeBoer's haul. The summer recruiting visits have brought early success landing Alabama six top 100 players Keelon Russell, Chuck McDonald, Jackson Lloyd, Michael Carroll, and Dawson Merritt.
Kane Wommack and Christian Robinson will have plenty to work with
While this staff headlined by Kalen DeBoer is known for its offensive prowess, early on defense has been the side faring the best on the recruiting trail. This class is loaded at the linebacker position as Merritt joins Duke Johnson, Luke Metz, Jaedon Harmon, Abduall Sanders, and Myles Johnson. Kane Wommack and Christian Robinson will have the most talent they've ever had at linebacker at Alabama and it'll be interesting to see what they can do.