California Love: Bama recruiting at an elite level in The Golden State

When Kalen DeBoer and Courtney Morgan stepped off the airplane in Tuscaloosa, the talk turned immediately to recruiting, especially the West Coast and how involved the new Alabama staff may or may not be in The Golden State. What areas would they focus on and where would the bulk of the talent come from were also popular discussion points. It became pretty obvious when the staff was finalized, they were going to recruit nationwide.

Robert Gillespie , Freddie Roach and Christian Robinson had Southern roots that ran deep. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack played college football in the South and has had many stints there as a coach, including most recently the head coach of South Alabama. The South was covered, with the Tide landing 11 commitments from Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Mississippi so far.

Maurice Linguist , JaMarcus Shephard , Chris Kapilovic , Colin Hitschler and Nick Sheridan had lots of Midwest experience. So, it was a diverse group.

Now back to our original question: What about the West Coast? Obviously, with DeBoer having been a head coach out West for the five years before Alabama and Morgan (who grew up in Los Angeles) joining DeBoer’s staff, it makes perfect sense to recruit one of the most talent-rich states heavily.

Those relationships they spent years building traveled to Tuscaloosa with them and have paid huge dividends for the Crimson Tide so far in the 2025 class.

Latest Alabama Cali commitment is big, literally and figuratively

On Tuesday Kaleb Edwards chose the Tide over Texas, Auburn and Oregon among others. He’s a nationally top-5-ranked tight end, checking in at an impressive 6-foot-3, 235 pounds. He is the rare recruit who took six official visits before making his decision. So, he did his due diligence before locking in with Alabama. Alabama hosted him on 6/17 for his official visit, and this was a very quiet recruitment until the end.

Recruiter : Bryan Ellis

5-star corner was a huge commitment

Standing just under 6-foot-4, Dijon Lee is a bit of a unicorn at cornerback. He was a nationally recruited athlete, which isn’t surprising for a 5-star. He chose UA over heavy pushes from Georgia, Texas and Washington, among many others. Lee was one of the first recruits linked to the Tide upon Kalen DeBoer’s arrival. He visited Tuscaloosa officially on 6/21.

Recruiter : Mo Linguist.

Fast-rising OT chose Alabama over heavy competition

Another prospect linked to DeBoer quickly was fast-rising Jackson Lloyd , who On3 has ranked among the top 30 national prospects. Almost 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds, Lloyd is a three-sport athlete who saw his stock rise considerably after Alabama offered in January. He chose UA over a full-court press from Ohio State and USC (canceled his official). He took his official to Bama on 6/14 and shut his recruitment down.

Recruiter : Chris Kapilovic.

Mater Dei pipeline continues

If you want to talk about a recruitment that was shut down quickly, look no further than Chuck McDonald . Mater Dei has been good to Bama in recent years, and McDonald was a nationally sought-after prospect and a top-10-ranked corner. He had numerous official visits set up and suitors, including Georgia, LSU, Oregon and USC among others. He canceled his visit to Athens after visiting UA on 5/31, came back the next weekend and committed.

Recruiter : Mo Linguist.

McDonald’s teammate, Abduall Sanders , was also quick to act when it came to committing. Sanders took two unofficial visits in February and March. He didn’t take long to make his decision, committing soon after leaving from his second visit. Sanders had offers from Tennessee (received an official 6/14), Oklahoma, Notre Dame and many more. He took his official to The Capstone on 6/21.

Recruiter : Kane Wommack.

Special teams needs love, too

We haven’t talked a lot about Alex Asparuhov , who was obviously so excited to commit to Alabama that he did so on Saturday while his official visit was still going. He had offers from Oklahoma and Florida (Officially visited on 6/14), but the next weekend he was in Tuscaloosa and committed almost on the spot.

Recruiter : Jay Nunez.

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