Coach Nick Saban took his fair share of players from the West Coast, the most notable being Hawaii quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and a trio of California products in quarterback Bryce Young, running back Najee Harris, and offensive tackle Jonah Williams. All four of the aforementioned players made stops in Tuscaloosa and won national championships before becoming first round draft picks.
Alabama has perhaps never been as active (or as successful) recruiting the West Coast as it is right now under Kalen DeBoer. Of course, this makes sense, given DeBoer’s West Coast experience as he comes over from Washington and the now-defunct PAC-12.
DeBoer’s connections in Seattle allowed him to bring in four transfers from Washington in quarterback Austin Mack, center Parker Brailsford, wide receiver Germie Bernard, and tight end Josh Cuevas. Brailsford and Bernard figure to start at key positions and play major roles for the Tide this fall, while Cuevas could also carve out a role and Mack will serve as a reserve signal-caller.
The West Coast roots that DeBoer laid down have also helped him to land six verbal commitments so far in the 2025 class.
A pair of cornerbacks in 5-star Dijon Lee and 4-star Chuck McDonald headline the group. Lee hails from Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo, California while McDonald is another Southern California product from Mater Dei High School.
Ironically, one of Coach Saban’s last moves as the head man in Tuscaloosa was to restock the cornerback room with a pair of former 5-star corners from Mater Dei. He signed Zabien Brown in the class of 2024 and, shortly after, got a transfer commitment from former USC cornerback Domani Jackson. Should they remain in Tuscaloosa, Jackson and Brown will be joined by Chuck McDonald next fall in a SoCal-heavy secondary.
4-star offensive tackle Jackson Lloyd and 4-star tight end Kaleb Edwards are two more big pickups for the Tide out of the Golden State. Lloyd has NFL upside and length at the tackle position while Edwards could develop into Alabama’s most complete tight end in several years.
3-star linebacker Abduall Sanders Jr. is yet another quality athlete out of Mater Dei. Punter Alex Asparuhov from Fresno rounds out Bama’s 2025 commitments from the West Coast. Asparuhov is one of the best punters in the cycle and should be a dependable long-term replacement for James Burnip.
In the modern age of college football, recruiting has become a national game. Regionality will always matter to an extent, but so will talent pipelines to other parts of the country. It will be fascinating to track DeBoer’s recruiting patterns over the next few cycles to see if he continues to recruit the West Coast this hard, or if he turns his attention even more to the South.