Alabama's key to recruiting success revealed amid monster official visit weekend
The biggest question about Kalen DeBoer taking over for Nick Saban as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide was regarding the drop-off in recruiting.
His two classes at Washington ranked as the No. 59 and No. 29 classes respectively, and even after the Huskies made the College Football Playoff and title game in 2023 there were questions if the program was set up to make another. DeBoer has been working on silencing those notions in Tuscaloosa where he inherited a top-5 class from Nick Saban, and over this past weekend based on rumblings appeared to make quite a statement.
The Tide came into Monday having landed a four-star offensive lineman in Micah DeBose and as the favorites to land five-star corner Dijon Lee, five-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood, and five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham. What the key to the new staff's success was a large question until it was revealed that a new player on the team is pushing really hard. In a post on the app formerly known as Twitter, 247Sports' Brett Greenberg revealed that it was five-star freshman Ryan Williams who he was hearing the most about from recruits.
Ryan Williams
© Mickey Welsh / USA Today Network
"There are very few conversations I have with recruits who don’t mention Ryan Williams as one of many reasons #Alabama is atop or near the top of their list…" wrote Greenberg.
Williams was ranked as the No. 8 player in the country and as the No. 3 receiver in the country, and was essentially DeBoer's first true victory on the recruiting trail by keeping him as a part of Alama's class after Saban retired. The speedy wideout out of Saraland racked up 72 catches for 1,324 yards and 19 touchdowns during his senior year, and had all of college football's big dogs pursuing him.
While he is expected to have a major role during his freshman year on the field, he is clearly looking to help bolster the roster around him as much as possible. Alabama's 2025 class currently ranks as the No. 2 class in the country, and if/when they are able to add those five-star recruits they will likely leap Ohio State for the No. 1 spot, thus showcasing that DeBoer is looking to keep the recruiting at the highest level possible.
