Alabama Football in the Mix for 2022 Wide Receiver Soon to Announce Decision
It's all not been bad news in Tuscaloosa around the Alabama football building, to defy what one would think after its three-point loss at Texas A&M. Recruiting, per usual, is at its peak in quality and quantity.
Jaleel Skinner of IMG Academy pledged to the program last Friday, giving the Crimson Tide its 16th commitment and a verbal tie from the nation's top-rated tight end prospect of the 2022 class.
As is annually the case in mid-October, though, Alabama looks to extend its reach and add to what could be the nation's premier group of recruits upon the November 1 release of 2022 rankings by SI All-American.
But there's more immediate objectives for Nick Saban and the rest of the Tide coaching staff, and one is securing a commitment from Luther Burden, the third-ranked wide receiver in the 2022 class from East St. Louis, Illinois.
He plans to announce his college decision October 20.
Originally an Oklahoma commit, Burden backed off in August and reopened his recruitment. But one month after he narrowed the choices to three finalists, Missouri, Georgia and Alabama.
He'll follow a recent Missouri visit with a trip to Athens this weekend for the Bulldogs matchup versus Kentucky, and in doing so Georgia gets the last opportunity for an in-person impression.
Below is the SIAA scouting report for Burden.
WR Luther Burden
Vitals: 6'2", 195 pounds
School: Saint Louis (Mo.) East St. Louis
"Built with a big, strong frame, Burden plays bigger than the above-average listing on tape. He is a complete and classic WR1 prospect with the size and overall athleticism to challenge the edge and depth of a secondary. Burden is masterful at the high point and on contested catches, with great physicality at the point, but he offers a counter to his game as an after-the-catch player with great vision and moves in space."
The bigger-bodied prospect has better top-end speed than his size would indicate, a feature that pairs nicely with his ability to take an efficient and controlled path towards where the ball will eventually be. It also factors into the return game and allows him to use the extremes of the route tree to keep cover corners honest."
