Alabama Football zeroing in on two key Wolf targets

Alabama Football’s recruiting rampage figures to continue throughout the month of June, as the Tide has received several expert predictions to land 4-star outside linebacker Dawson Merritt. Merritt is one of the best players in Kansas and the son of Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt. As it stands, his finalists are Alabama and Nebraska, but it appears the Crimson Tide has made a significant push. 

Merritt is the no. 62 player in the country per 247Sports and a consensus top-100 player nationally. He would play the Wolf in Kane Wommack’s 4-2-5 scheme, joining a loaded room on the edge. 

Alabama has also gone hard after Cincinnati product Justin Hill, one of the most explosive pass rushers in the 2025 class. Another consensus top-100 player, Hill is a playmaker who wreaks havoc in opposing backfields and forces a lot of turnovers. It will be tough to pry him from the clutches of the home state Buckeyes, but Kalen DeBoer and his staff are on a hot streak on the recruiting trail right now and could pull it off. 

Bama’s Wolf room is one of the most stacked on the roster, as the Tide has recruited top-tier talent at the position for several consecutive cycles. It expects to return five players next fall in Keanu Koht, Qua Russaw, Yhonzae Pierre, Noah Carter, and Jayshawn Ross, so it won’t be reliant on instant-impact freshmen next fall. This group includes two former 5-star recruits and three former 4-stars. Koht is a veteran who could easily make an impact in 2024, while Russaw, Pierre, and Carter are high-upside pass rushers.

It seems inevitable that Alabama will land at least one of these 2025 options. However, if it can land both, this unit will remain one of the deepest on the team. Under Christian Robinson’s tutelage, it should continue to perform at a high level on the field as well.