On the first day of the early signing period, head coach Kalen DeBoer and staff signed 20 of the 21 commits held within the Alabama 2025 recruiting class.
“A whole year goes into this day and it’s an exciting time for us and exciting time for them,” DeBoer said of the signees. “We want to continue to bring in and embody what Alabama stands for.”
The class consists of three 5-star players, according to On3’s rankings, and is headlined by the No. 2 quarterback in the class, Keelon Russell.
DeBoer spoke highly of Russell and what he saw in him, noting Russell’s confidence. He also mentioned Russell’s athletic abilities.
He spoke on Russell’s arm talent, saying that he’s accurate with the ability to throw with “different arm slots” and has an added dimension by being able to make plays on the run.
DeBoer made sure that Russell would be protected in the pocket in the future, adding four offensive tackles to the class. However, 5-star offensive lineman commit Ty Haywood has yet to sign. Haywood is the only player in Alabama’s class who will not sign in this early period.
DeBoer will also bring in four linebackers along with the offensive line. These two positions will see the most newcomers in the class. The linebacker group is led by Justin Hill, who is among the top five in the position nationally.
“Hill is a special player, and this is a place that he and his family love, first of all,” DeBoer said. “But just from an athleticism, explosiveness and playmaking standpoint, you can see his film and you can see what we see.”
Hill will be enrolling early and arriving at Alabama next semester to start participating in practice with the team.
DeBoer credited outside linebacker coach Christian Robinson with helping land Hill.
“Robinson did an amazing job along with the rest of our staff,” DeBoer said, adding that Robinson had formed an “extremely tight” relationship with Hill. “I think it’s the vision of our defense combined with what he does.”
There will also be three defensive backs joining the class: 5-star cornerback Dijon Lee, 4-star cornerback Chuck McDonald and 4-star safety Ivan Taylor.
Taylor is the most recent addition to the class after Alabama flipped his commitment from Michigan.
One of two receivers in the class is Lotzeir Brooks from New Jersey. Brooks is rated as a top-15 receiver in the class and was recently upgraded to a 4-star.
“Super explosive and great ball skills, he’s an athlete, a very good athlete,” DeBoer said. “He’s quarterback friendly. He’s been the go-to guy, over 4,000 yards receiving in his high school career.”
While DeBoer has been successful in recruiting all over, in-state recruiting has been lacking. However, he said that this is just the beginning.
“Relationships is where it starts, and the relationships are with those players. The identification of course is a part of it, idea and evaluation, but the relationship piece is important,” DeBoer said. “[Recruits’] high school coaches know who I am, know who much of our staff [are]. That helped get the ball rolling with those guys.”
DeBoer has shown no signs of slowing down and expressed confidence in future ability to recruit in-state.
“Every year we continue to just grow and build trust. I think the season that we went through will only continue to help these in-state high school coaches believe in us,” DeBoer said.
