Alabama Football Ties Up a Trio of Loose Ends on National Signing Date
The University of Alabama football program isn't expecting a dramatic day on Wednesday as National Signing Day is celebrated throughout the college football world. The Crimson Tide will put the finishing touches on the No. 2 overall class in the cycle by inking three prospects into the class.
The majority of the class signed their letters of intent in December while Nick Saban was still leading the Alabama football program, leaving little work for Kalen DeBoer and his new staff in this cycle. DeBoer's biggest challenge? Resecuring 5-star receiver Ryan Williams in the class.
It only took two weeks for DeBoer and his staff to impress the two-time Alabama Mr. Football winner and see him recommit to the program as Williams announced his decision on January 24. The dynamic receiver eliminated the drama even more this week as he announced his intentions to sign on Wednesday, instead of Friday, his birthday, like he had originally planned.
The Crimson Tide also expects the fax machine to produce signed letters of intent from defenders Noah Carter and Quinton "QB" Reese on Wednesday.
Carter was released from his Washington letter of intent and followed DeBoer and his coaching staff to Tuscaloosa to begin his career. The 4-star edge rusher is considered the No. 8 player at his position by 247Sports. He committed on January 25 after taking a visit to The Capstone.
Reese has been an Alabama football commit since September of 2023. The 3-star linebacker out of Ramsay High School in Birmingham recently took another official visit to Tuscaloosa to meet the new staff. The heavy-hitter confirmed his plans to stay with Alabama after the visit and sign his letter of intent on Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide faithful can certainly point to Julian Sayin and Jameer Grimsley's departures as losses as both prospects left Alabama during the transition from Saban to DeBoer. However, even with their departures, the 26-member freshman class is still one of the best in the nation. Alabama boasts the second-highest recruiting average in the class at 93.12 trailing only the Georgia Bulldogs who managed a 93.61 average.
Coach Saban did all he could to ensure the transition to DeBoer was as smooth as possible as evidenced by another successful cycle on the recruiting trail. Saban may have given special attention to the defensive backfield during this class as he secured three 5-star prospects to help lock down the back end.
Jaylen Mbakwe, Zabien Brown and Zay Mincey will all push for early playing time under DeBoer as the trio comes in as highly touted athletes. Peyton Woodyard, Red Morgan and Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. may not be 5-star prospects, but the second trio is just as exciting as the first. Morgan and Kirkpatrick Jr. were Alabama high school standouts on the back-end of defenses, while Woodyard shined in California.
Alabama has already processed paperwork for 23 members of its Class of 2024 and many of them are already on campus participating in classes and spring workouts.
Wednesday may be National Signing Date, but it could prove to be one of the more relaxing days in the early part of DeBoer's tenure, thanks to Saban and his relentless approach to recruiting.
