Sports Illustrated Names Alabama 2023 National Recruiting Champion
There's still almost two full days remaining in the early signing period, plus National Signing Day in February still to go, but Sports Illustrated had seen enough.
Thursday morning, it named the Alabama Crimson Tide the national recruiting champion for the Class of 2023.
No other program was still within striking distance after Nick Saban announced the signing of 27 players —25 high school additions plus two junior-college transfers — on Wednesday evening.
The list included 12 players in the SI99 rankings, two more than any other program and three of the top nine players:
3. DE Keon Keeley—Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep
6. S Caleb Downs—Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek
9. OT Kadyn Proctor—Des Moines (Iowa) Southeast Polk
"Got a good bunch of players, but I think what I like about this group the most is it seems like they have really good character," Saban said during his final press conference before the team travels to New Orleans on Monday to play Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.
"We still sort of try to get guys to buy into developing, creating value for their future based on getting an education, being a good person, being the best football player they can be. So I feel like the kinda guys that we were able to attract are the right kind of guys and we're excited about the class."
What put Alabama over the top in clinching the title was the late commitment of Proctor on Tuesday, followed by the signings of the top two prospects in the state, who were teammates at Carver High School in Montgomery.
Elite front seven recruits James Smith and Qua Russaw were always considered a package deal, and successfully kept quiet about where they were going until the very end. Auburn made a late push for each under its new staff and Florida was also involved down the stretch.
"It was important because we come from the same background," Smith said on the ESPN broadcast of their announcement. "We just do everything together so we're gonna come in together."
SI 2023 Team Recruiting Rankings
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Texas
4. Miami
5. LSU
6. Oregon
7. Ohio State
8. Notre Dame
9. Tennessee
10. Florida
11. Clemson
12. Oklahoma
13. USC
14. Penn State
15. South Carolina
16. Florida State
17. Texas A&M
19. Auburn
20. Michigan
21. Arkansas
22. TCU
23. Washington
24. Texas Tech
25. Utah
See Also:
Live Updates: Alabama Football Early-Signing Class of 2023
National Signing Day: Live Updates as College Football's Early Signing Period Opens
Meet the Alabama Crimson Tide Recruiting Class of 2023
Want to see the Crimson Tide or other teams? SI Tickets
