After weeks of indecision, five-star prospect Reuben Foster verbally committed to The University of Alabama on Monday night.
Foster chose the Crimson Tide over in state rival Auburn and the Georgia Bulldogs.
The five-star linebacker was once committed to Alabama and Auburn over the past year.
The 6-foot-2, 242-pound linebacker appeared to be leaning toward Auburn until this weekend, when Foster reportedly left his official visit with the Tigers for an impromptu trip to Tuscaloosa. Foster is the fourth five-star prospect to switch his commitment from Auburn to Alabama in the last three years.
“Everybody says coach Saban is uptight,” Foster said. “He ain’t uptight. He’s just trying to get the job done.”
The Auburn High School (Auburn, Ala.) standout is rated as the No. 1 inside linebacker recruit in the country by the 247Composite rankings. He recorded 80 tackles, including 22 tackles for loss and six sacks and was named the MVP of the Under Armour High School All-American game in January.
Foster, the No. 1 recruit in the state of Alabama, exploded onto the scene as a sophomore at Troup County High School in Georgia and after several visits to Tuscaloosa during the summer before his junior year, Foster committed to the University of Alabama in July of 2011.
Georgia and Auburn continued their pursuit of Foster but despite their efforts, he remained committed to the Crimson Tide throughout his junior season.
His recruitment its first turn when Foster decided to transfer to Auburn High School in April 2012 following the controversial departure of his high school head coach from Troup County.
Foster moved with his family, including his 3-year-old daughter, to Auburn and speculation began as Foster began taking more frequent visits to the nearby Auburn University campus.
On July 12, 2012, Foster held a press conference to announce what many had already anticipated, that he had flipped his commitment from Alabama to Auburn. The announcement shook up the recruiting world and put then head coach Gene Chizik and the Auburn Tigers in position to land one of the nation’s top recruiting classes for the 2013 recruiting cycle, with Foster headlining the bunch.
To add fuel to the already heated rivalry of the Alabama-Auburn recruiting battle, in announcing his change of commitment, Foster read a statement that was nearly identical to the statement read by Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon when he switched his commitment from Auburn to Alabama during the 2012 recruiting cycle.
But things took another turn in Foster’s rollercoaster recruiting ride. Just over four months later, Auburn fired Chizik and left the Tigers football program in shambles. Following Chizik’s dismissal, other Auburn commits began to back out, forcing Foster to make a decision.
Once it was formally announced that Auburn would not be retaining assistant coach Trooper Taylor, with whom Foster had developed a close relationship, Foster announced that he was no longer committed to Auburn and would re-open his recruitment.
