Two Alabama true freshmen drew rave reviews after Friday's practice

Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football signed one of the best recruiting classes in the country in 2025. DeBoer and company re-worked the roster via recruiting and the Transfer Portal and there's plenty of new faces who are expected to contribute during their first seasons on campus.

The Crimson Tide opened spring practice on Monday. They practiced three times this week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

2025 is a pivotal season for DeBoer and Alabama. The Tide suffered through a disappointing 9-4 year in 2024 and much more is expected next season. DeBoer brought in Ryan Grubb to run the offense and Alabama will be breaking in a new QB as Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and Keelon Russell are all vying for the starting job.

One of the most exciting aspects of spring practice is getting eyes on the newcomers. With a highly regarded recruiting class arriving in Tuscaloosa (all but three players enrolled early), there's an exciting crop of young talent on campus and several of them are making noise right away.

On Friday, two true freshmen received praise from coaches and teammates.

CB Dijon Lee and WR Lotzeir Brooks were standouts during Friday's practice

5-star freshman CB Dijon Lee sure looks the part. At 6-foot-4, he's big for a corner and his length is already causing problems for a talented WR room in Tuscaloosa.

DC Kane Wommack praised Lee after Friday's practice.

"He looks like a corner right now," said Wommack. "He just looks like a really long-ass corner."

A video from practice showed exactly what Wommack was seeing out of the talented freshman:

Lee's path to playing time will not be easy. Alabama returns both starting corners from a year ago in senior Domani Jackson and sophomore Zabien Brown. They also added Utah transfer Cam Calhoun in the Transfer Portal. The Crimson Tide seems to have four viable options on the outside and if last season was any indication, Wommack likes to substitute corners to keep everyone fresh.

Lee's immediate emergence isn't all that surprising given the player he was billed to be. But WR Lotzeir Brooks might prove to have been the most underrated player in the 2025 class anywhere in the country. The Millville, New Jersey native was just a 3-star recruit according to 247Sports.

After three practices, it looks like it's going to be hard to keep the freshman off the field in 2025.

When asked about Brooks, safety Bray Hubbard had this to say on Friday:

"He's doing really great. That dude's fast. That sucker, he's hard to keep up with, I will say. I ain't even gonna lie."

By all accounts, it seems like Alabama's WR room has massively upgraded from where it was a year ago. The Crimson Tide struggled to identify a reliable No. 3 option at WR behind Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard. But now, with Williams and Bernard back, Alabama seems to have plenty of options to pair with them.

The Tide added Isaiah Horton from Miami out of the Transfer Portal, will have a healthy Jalen Hale and Cole Adams, second-year improvement from Rico Scott and Jaylen Mbakwe, and true freshmen in Brooks and Derek Meadows.

With the guys in front of him, it won't be easy for Brooks to find playing time. But the talent appears undeniable. He seems like a good bet to carve out a role as a freshman.