Huge recruiting weekend ahead for Alabama Football and Basketball

The spotlight will be on Tuscaloosa this weekend for Alabama Football's marquee showdown with Georgia bringing high profile visitors such as the former President. There will be plenty of other high profile visitors, with huge importance to the future of both the football and basketball programs.

A huge college football game is always the easiest sell to get recruits on campus. After all, they are fans of the sport and who doesn't want the chance to watch one of the biggest games of the season in-person and for free?

While the on-field result of the game won't matter as much as it once did for the playoff's sake, it is a huge game for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama, if for no other reason than the perception of the program. Other schools are negative recruiting against the Crimson Tide, saying Alabama isn't Alabama without Nick Saban.

Beating Georgia on Saturday night in front of a monster list of official vistiors would shut that notion right up, hand DeBoer his first signature win in Tuscaloosa, and show that the program is as strong as it ever was.

5-star DL Justus Terry headlines talented group of visitors

A host of committed prospects including four five-stars: QB Keelon Russell, WR Caleb Cunningham, OL Ty Haywood, and DB Dijon Lee, will be on campus this weekend. Of the uncommitted prospects, they don't get much bigger than five-star DL Justus Terry.

Terry is the No. 8 player in the 247 composite rankings, and decommitted from USC back in June. The Georgia native has had a lot of smoke toward the Bulldogs, and while they should be viewed as the favorite here, Alabama has a big chance this weekend to sway him toward Tuscaloosa.

Five prospects committed elsewhere are currently expected to be in Tuscaloosa this weekend as the Tide works to flip them. That group is headlined by former Alabama commit and current Auburn pledge Derick Smith, a Top-100 athlete who could play WR or safety in college. A pair of Michigan commits, four-star S Ivan Taylor and four-star TE Andrew Olesh, Florida 4-star DL commitment Joseph Mbatchou, and 3-star LSU commit Jaiden Braker will also be on campus.

Flipping a recruit is always an uphill battle, but I would expect if Alabama pushes that one or two of those guys ends up in the Tide's class.

This will be a big weekend for future recruiting classes as well, with a ton of highly regarded 2026 and 2027 prospects descending on Tuscaloosa for the game. Perspective is key, and these kids need to see that DeBoer is going to keep this program in the upper-echelon of college football.

Two big basketball visitors

Alabama is scheduled to have two 5-star prospects for the 2025 basketball class on campus this weekend in one of the biggest recruiting visits ever for Nate Oats and company. The consensus No. 1 player in the 2025 class, A.J. Dybantsa, will be in Tuscaloosa this weekend.

Oats has significant momentum following last season's run to the Final Four and a track record of developing players into the NBA. Alabama just landed its second commitment of 2025 in four-star PF London Jemison.

Dybantsa recently visited Kansas and North Carolina, and still has visits scheduled for Baylor and BYU. The Cougars are likely the biggest competition here, with a significant NIL offer on the table for the hometown product that isn't likely going to be matched by anyone.

Still, Oats and company have landed recruits for a discount before, and they have a chance to sell Dybantsa on a big vision. Joining him will be another five-star prospect in guard Meleek Thomas, who is ranked as the No. 8 player in the 247 composite.

Oats and the assistant coaches, particularly Preston Murphy, have mastered the official visit formula. The level of detail the staff provides is beyond anything Dybantsa and Thomas will see anywhere else on their trips.

It's a big weekend for Alabama, both on and off the field, and beating Georgia might be a bigger off the field boost than on.