Alabama Football looking to make headway in 2026 cycle

Considering the significant progress Alabama has already made in the 2025 recruiting cycle, this weekend’s Champions Cookout won’t be a major event for rising high school seniors.

The Tide already has 22 commitments and the top-ranked class in the 2025 cycle, and will mostly be looking to keep the group intact from here on out. Many of those verbal commits will be on campus for the event this weekend and should help the coaching staff to recruit its remaining targets.

Alabama will gradually begin turning its attention to the 2026 class, and the Champions Cookout is a massive opportunity to make positive impressions on some of the standouts in the rising junior class. 

Among those 2026 products expected to be in attendance in Tuscaloosa are 5-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, 5-star in-state edge Anthony Jones, 5-star quarterback Ryder Lyons, 4-star safety Blaine Bradford, 4-star athlete Brandon Arrington, and 4-star linebacker Xavier Griffin. All of the aforementioned players are currently top-30 recruits and could eventually be 5-stars in the class of 2026, so Coach DeBoer and his staff are continuing to target the very best players in the nation.

DeBoer inherited a ready-made program already stocked with top-tier talent, recruiting infrastructure, and championship culture. As he begins to take Nick Saban’s program and remold it in his own image, these 2025 and 2026 classes will go a long way towards keeping it operating at a championship level. 

DeBoer and his staff have already blown away expectations in the 2025 cycle, which will be their first full class. We may have to wait a while to see what the encore looks like, but the recruiting staff is already off to a strong start in 2026 and will look to make major moves at this weekend’s Cookout.