Alabama Recruiting Update: Tennessee Game Visitors

This Saturday, the Crimson Tide have a home game for the first time since the Ole Miss game back on October 2. For recruiting purposes, this means more opportunities to host prospects. Though the LSU game (Nov. 6) will be the biggest recruiting weekend, sometimes it is dependent on how and when recruits and their families can work it into their schedules.

OFFICIAL VISITORS

• Chris Marshall is among a short list of wide receivers that the Tide is zeroing in on (more on that subject below). The #84 overall player on the 247 composite is a 4-star from Missouri City, Texas. He is long and lean (6’3”/195) with top end speed. Although he did not start playing football until his junior year, he excelled from Day 1. Texas A&M looks like the leader, but we’ve seen how attitudes can change once Nick Saban gets a recruit on campus. Marshall OV’d TAMU and Southern Cal in June.
• Here again with defensive tackle Chris McClellan, we have a prospect who has already taken OVs to Florida and Ohio State in June. The four-star (#100) visited Oklahoma on September 25 (an ugly 16-13 win over West Virginia). Something did not go quite right and the Owasso, OK resident appears turned off of the Sooners. He is 6’3”/295 and can play varying roles in multiple fronts.
• Isaiah Hastings, is an under-the-radar prospect from Toronto, Canada. The 3-star defensive tackle currently plays out of Clearwater Academy International in Florida. Alabama may have found the sleeper hit of the season. After the Tide made an offer in mid-September, his ranking went from no ranking up to #633. His ranking now stands at #427 and rising. He is 6’4”/290.
• TE/WR Amari Niblack, is another recruit who is shooting up the charts. When he committed to Alabama in June, he was 3-stars ranked #492. Now that the “experts” have seen him play, he jumped over 300 spots to #188. I cannot recall someone rising that far in such a short time. He is also from Clearwater.
• Kiyaunta Goodwin is a 5-star offensive tackle from Charlestown, Indiana who is solidly committed to Kentucky. He is most likely just sight-seeing. However should UK head coach Mark Stoops take a higher profile job after the season, it could open the door a crack.

UNOFFICIAL VISITORS

• Shemar James (6’2”/212) decommitted from Florida this week. You can forgive him if he fell for Dan Mullen’s snake oil salesman pitch for a moment. The high 4-star linebacker from Faith Academy in Mobile, Alabama is ranked #70 overall in the Class of 2022. He has also played RB, WR, and multiple spots on defense. He plays basketball and runs track. UGA is also in the hunt.
• Many of the 2022 Alabama committed players will be on hand. Among them will be ringleaders Ty Simpson and Emmanuel Henderson. Also expected are Jeremiah Alexander, Elijah Pritchett, Tre’Quon Fegans, Antonio Kite, Kobe Prentice, Robert Woodyard, Dayne Shor, and Jake Pope.
• Bama will also have unofficial visits from several 2023 prospects including 5-star CB Tony Mitchell (#13) and high 4-star DL Peter Woods (#24), both from powerhouse Thompson HS in Alabaster, AL.

OTHER CROOTIN’ NEWS

According to two independent crootin’ insiders that RBR trusts, Alabama has backed of 4-star WR Barion Brown. Word is that he has been handed a “suspension” and the word “another” was put in front of that. It is unclear if these are school suspensions or an on-field ones, but it sounds like he is not worth the hassle.

Maybe not so coincidentally, Bama WR target Aaron Anderson decommitted from LSU on Monday. He is a 4-star, ranked #114 overall.

The Crimson Tide are also looking at Evan Stewart, Kendrick Law, Shazz Preston, and Chris Marshall at the wide receiver position.

ROLL TIDE

#NSD22