Will Alabama land a top-5 2025 recruiting class?
Alabama’s 2025 recruiting class is shaping up nicely. Though Kalen DeBoer and his staff are still awaiting the first 5-star commitment in the 2025 cycle, they have covered many other bases.
The Crimson Tide’s 5-star hunt may not last long, as it is in hot pursuit of players like offensive tackle Ty Haywood among several others. The Tide is also on the trail of several highly-touted 4-stars, headlined by quarterback Keylon Russell, cornerback Dijon Lee, and outside linebacker Dawson Merritt.
Such additions would only add to a recruiting class with a very solid foundation. To this point, Bama has focused heavily on the defensive side of the ball with an emphasis on speed and versatility. Its current 10-man class includes five linebackers and two defensive backs, both areas where the Tide knows it will have to restock following the 2024 season.
Outside of those elusive 5-star talents who will inevitably headline this recruiting class, Alabama is missing a quarterback and some reinforcements in the trenches. It appears to have zeroed in on Russell, an SMU commit for the time being, as its quarterback of choice. A top-10 quarterback and top-40 player nationally out of Duncanville, Texas, Keelon Russell would be a big-time pickup that would go a long way towards bringing this class together.
In terms of line of scrimmage play, Alabama may not be pressing quite as hard. The Crimson Tide is supremely deep on the defensive line and has a backlog of young offensive linemen that it is working to develop. That isn’t to say Alabama won’t take any linemen, of course. The Tide already has top-100 4-star defensive lineman Antonio Coleman in the boat, and is after several more blue-chip linemen on both sides of the ball. They will probably just take a lighter haul of linemen in this cycle.
Once Alabama pins down its quarterback and lands some quality linemen, this class will start to look a lot more complete. With just 10 commits, it is already a top-10 class nationally and should eventually start to look more like a top-5 group.
Perhaps even more importantly, the recruiting class has been assembled fairly locally to this point. It consists of four in-state products as well as three commits out of Georgia, which speaks to DeBoer’s emphasis on learning the territory and quickly turning in results. It will be critical for him to continue mining the South as his career progresses.
Stay tuned for more updates as the 2025 recruiting cycle continues to chug on into the summer.