It’s been one of those weeks where the news has seemed never-ending on the Alabama football recruiting front. The Crimson Tide will host a few recruits this weekend including a Top 5 receiver, and one of the top remaining defenders in the transfer portal for official visits. Notable targets have also trimmed their list of top contenders in their recruitment.
Coaches were also scattered throughout the country visiting recruits as the spring evaluation period nears its next week. New official visit dates have been set including a major five-star target who is currently committed elsewhere. A few Tide commitments have also scheduled visits to other SEC schools.
BOL takes an in-depth look at the latest happenings in Alabama recruiting.
The No. 1 recruit in New Jersey (Bergen Catholic) recently included Alabama in his top six. Porter has not visited since last summer. He will take an unofficial visit with the Crimson Tide on Saturday (will stay overnight).
Most peg Michigan and Ohio State as the front-runners heading into the summer. Alabama can become an instant contender in his recruitment. It is a little late for some high-end recruits to take unofficial visits. The majority of the trips are in the form of official visits which means Alabama can also host again for an OV, possibly as early as next month.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound receiver recently visited with Alabama Co-OC/WRs coach, JaMarcus Shephard . The Tide will love to add another Jersey receiver to the class ( Lotzeir Brooks committed earlier this spring). Alabama was considered on the outside for Top 100 WR Derek Meadows (Las Vegas-Bishop Gorman) prior to his visit to Tuscaloosa this spring. They are now considered one of the front-runners. A first impression can completely shift momentum.
Former South Alabama LB Khalil Jacobs (Photo credit: Pete Nakos-On3)
There has a been a lot of back-and-forth between Alabama and former South Alabama linebacker Khalil Jacobs since he entered the transfer portal on 4/26. BOL also spoke with Jacobs shortly after he entered the portal. The only coach he has communicated with to that point was his former head coach, and now Alabama DC Kane Wommack .
Jacobs visited Auburn the following Tuesday. He was originally set to visit Missouri (May 2) Alabama (May 4) until both visits were pushed to a later date. He visited Ole Miss earlier this week. Jacobs is set for a visit to Missouri on Friday with a trip to Tuscaloosa expected for Saturday.
Alabama has done really well in the portal since the conclusion of spring practice. UA has added several pieces included two linemen ( Kadyn Proctor , Geno VanDeMark ), three defensive backs ( Dashawn Jones , King Mack , Kameron Howard ) and the Lou Groza award winner ( Graham Nicholson ). BOL reported after the most recent addition (VanDeMark) the portal window had not officially closed for the Crimson Tide.
‘Bama and Jacobs are still ironing out some details, and Alabama is tough to beat if they do get worked out.
Alabama ‘Wolf’ target Dawson Merritt , Top 100 from Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, Kansas, decided to trim his list to Alabama and Nebraska. Oklahoma was officially eliminated on Wednesday. Mizzou had previously been removed as a contender. Merritt took an OV to Nebraska three weekends ago, and he is scheduled for an OV to Alabama on June 7.
The current plan is to wait until after the official visit before announcing a commitment. Anything is possible as BOL will continue to monitor his recruitment leading up to the return visit with the Tide (his third since March). Merritt met with Alabama DC Kane Wommack and outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson on Thursday morning prior to a visit with a coach from Nebraska.
Merritt describes his relationship with Coach Robinson as one that, “is unlike any other relationship I have with a coach.” He shared more about why his trimmed the choices to the Crimson Tide and Cornhuskers- HERE
BOL currently likes Alabama’s position with Merritt, but Nebraska isn’t going down without a fight. The Tide with the final visit before a decision is significant. The relationship with C-Rob is also important as UA will look to close one of its top targets.
Five-star RB Akylin Dear on a previous visit to Alabama.
•The summer official visits begin in two weeks (May 31). The first weekend currently includes 12 players including some recent additions this week such as Alabama S commit Derick Smith (Selma-Southside), Top 100 RB Jordon Davison (Santa Ana, Calif-Mater Dei) and four-star DL Charles House (Charlotte-North Mecklenberg).
BOL has also added a few other significant visitors for next month in the last few days. Five-star RB/Ole Miss commitment AK Dear (Quitman, Miss), will visit on June 14. Mississippi DL London Simmons (Flowood, Miss-Hartfield Academy) also confirmed plans to visit the same weekend. Top 100 EDGE (recruited as ‘Bandit’) Damien Shanklin (Indianapolis-Warren Central) revealed plans to return to Tuscaloosa on June 21.
At least 30 recruits have confirmed OV plans with the Tide- COMPLETE LIST
• Derick Smith (mentioned above) has also set an official visit date to Auburn (6/7). The No. 2 player in the state spoke with BOL about his commitment status- HERE . Fellow UA commitment Myles Johnson (Brewton-T.R. Miller) has also set an OV elsewhere. He will visit Florida on 6/7. More on his status with the Tide via BOL- HERE
The visits weren’t limited to rising seniors as coaches stopped in to see many of the nation’s top juniors including Immanuel Iheanacho (Baltimore-Georgetown Prep ) , the No. 1 OL in the class who was seen by OL coach Chris Kapilovic on Thursday.
•More than two dozen NEW offers were also extended by Alabama this week. Keep in mind- the majority of offers are still contingent on summer camp performance. Most of the offers were also to underclassmen. The only offers in the ’25 class were CJ Jimcoily , four-star S from Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, and Mario Nash , four-star OL from Kemper County HS in De Kalb, Miss.
There were several ’26 class recruits who added offers from Alabama including a Top 100 trio which included Kaiden Jones , RB from Jenks HS in Oklahoma ( Interview ), Kosi Okpala , LB from Mayde Creek HS in Katy, Texas and Brandon Bennett , WR from American Heritage HS in Fort Lauderdale.
CLICK HERE for the complete list of more than a dozen offers this week!
Make sure you follow our Daily Recruiting Rundown thread on the BOL RoundTable to keep track of the very latest content, features and intel as news continues to move fast in the Alabama recruiting world!
Want to talk with the BOL staff and also thousands of other Alabama fans about all the latest recruiting intel? CLICK HERE to join daily conversations about the Crimson Tide and much more on the BOL RoundTable .
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