There are only so many prospects who can earn a five-star label. It correlates to the amount of first-round picks available in every NFL Draft: 32. During the 2024 cycle, Alabama landed five players of that ilk amid major coaching turnover. Nick Saban retired, while Kalen DeBoer and much of his staff came over from Washington. Alabama was able to keep four of its five five-star recruits in that cycle.
After seeing Cooper Petagna's thoughts on the 2024 five-stars, here is how the Alabama guys land.
- No. 8: WR Ryan Coleman-Williams (Meeting Expectations)
- No. 12: CB Jaylen Mbakwe (In Question - Transferred to Georgia Tech)
- No. 20: QB Julian Sayin (Meeting Expectations- Transferred to Ohio State)
- No. 22: CB Zabien Brown (Meeting Expectations)
- No. 31: S Zavier Mincey (In Question)
The college football writer for CBS Sports and 247Sports took all 32 five-star prospects and sorted them accordingly. He did not mention quarterback Julian Sayin as part of the Alabama class, as he quickly transferred to Ohio State after Saban retired. In the years since, cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe has left for Georgia Tech. Ryan Coleman-Williams, Zabien Brown, and Zavier Mincey are still around.
While Coleman-Williams, Sayin, and Brown have mostly lived up to the hype of their five-star labels, Mbakwe and Mincey are very much works in progress. Mbakwe tried to play wide receiver early on, but that stunted his growth and necessitated his transfer to Georgia Tech. Mincey has shown signs of promise at Alabama, but he has been buried on the depth chart behind Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb.
At this time, how the 2026-27 season shakes out will determine if they all can live up to expectations.
Alabama's 2024 5-star recruits have yielded a wide array of results so far
When discussing those five players, Sayin and Coleman-Williams get the bulk of the notoriety. It is a construct of the positions they play, as well as the teams they star for. Being the starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the best receiving option for Alabama will do that to you. While Sayin has already been a Heisman finalist, Alabama fans are hoping Coleman-Williams can bounce back.
Brown may be as talented or as productive as both of those guys, but he plays a different position on the other side of the ball. He is a vibrant part of a loaded Alabama secondary, one that also features Mincey. There is an argument to Brown being the best player in the defensive backfield for Alabama. Hubbard, Sabb, and cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. are all nipping at his heels. Mincey is a bit further back.
And as far as Mbakwe is concerned, he may grow and prosper for his new team. Georgia Tech is well-coached under one of their own in Brent Key. However, the Yellow Jackets are a massive pull-back candidate this season. Losing Haynes King to the NFL, as well as Buster Faulker and Aaron Philo to Florida, may be too much to overcome. At least for Mbakwe, the opportunity to be great will beckon.
ALSO READ: These Alabama 5-star recruits never came close to living up to the hype
Overall, we should commend DeBoer for how well he and his staff navigated a tumultuous recruiting period when he first came over from Washington in 2024. Sayin leaving right away stinks, but Brown, Coleman-Williams, and to some degree Mincey have held up their end of the bargain. Not to say that these five players, including Mbakwe, will forever be grouped together, but they all carried five stars.
This all goes to show that just because a player was given a five-star label does not mean it is forever.
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