With football season and recruiting in full swing, No. 4 Alabama will take on No. 2-ranked Georgia on Saturday, and the outcome will determine more than just a record.
Heading into the game, both teams hold a top-five recruiting class for the class of 2025. Currently the Crimson Tide sits at No. 2, while the Bulldogs sit on the edge with the No. 5 class.
With Kalen DeBoer entering his first ranked matchup with Alabama, he will be looking to make a statement for the visiting recruits.
When DeBoer got to Alabama, there was an immediate attempt to convince recruits and current players to stay with the Crimson Tide, and it worked well. DeBoer kept receiver Ryan Williams and many others in Tuscaloosa, and fans can already see the impact.
Through just three games, Williams, a 17-year-old, has recorded 10 receptions for 285 yards and four touchdowns, providing an immediate replacement for Isaiah Bond, Alabama’s former leading wide receiver who transferred after Saban’s retirement.
“I don’t feel like I’m pumping him up too much, because I think he’s getting the job done on the football field,” DeBoer said. “He’s making it happen out there.”
Now, Alabama will host a number of recruits to see this Top-4 matchup and the outcome will weigh heavy on recruits..
Many of Alabama’s targeted recruits are also being recruited by Georgia. That means that a Georgia loss would be one for the record and for recruiting.
As of now, the No. 2 defensive lineman in the class of 2025, Justus Terry, is possibly the most valuable uncommitted recruit for the Crimson Tide. Terry was set to visit for the Georgia game, but his high school game got moved to Saturday due to severe storms.
Terry is one of only four uncommitted 5-star recruits left in the class of 2025 and has made it clear that he is down to Alabama and Georgia aftering decommitting from USC in June. He will not be making his decision until December.
“I just think about really just holding everything off until December,” Terry told DawgNation in August. “You know just my family never had anything like me come through so I just want to make it big for them.”
DeBoer is known by many as an offensive head coach, but a commitment from Terry would provide Alabama a potential future star at defensive lineman, setting the tone for other defensive recruits. He still plans to visit Tuscaloosa on a later date.
5-star recruits like Xavier Griffin and Anthony Jones will also be in attendance. Griffin is ranked as the No. 2 edge and Jones as the No. 1 linebacker in the class of 2026.
Griffin is currently committed to USC but is still taking visits, while Jones has been heavily recruited by and predicted to commit to Auburn.
All eyes will be on Tuscaloosa this Saturday, as the tension has been long building. DeBoer and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart know the weight this game holds, and this is their opportunity to impress.
Fans can watch this fight for the future unfold on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
