Recruiting | QB Luke Del Rio to Walk On at Alabama

You may now officially consider this a golden age of recruiting at Alabama when Elite 11 participants holding scholarship offers from the likes of UCLA and Oklahoma State decide they'd rather walk on in Tuscaloosa. Luke Del Rio, son of longtime NFL coach Jack Del Rio, has confirmed he will play his college ball for Alabama:

"It’s Alabama- it pretty much speaks for itself," Del Rio told BamaOnline of the Tide program earlier this week. "They have a great winning tradition and aren’t going to change their pro-style system. I think it’s another great fit."

As a high school senior, Del Rio led his team to a 12-2 record and a state championship while passing for 2,275 yards and 28 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. Rated as a three star prospect by Rivals,

Alabama already has two QB commits for the 2013 class (Cooper Bateman and Parker McLeod) and to go along with scholarship backups Alec Morris, Phillip Ely, and Blake Sims. With AJ McCarron coming back for his senior season, the post McCarron QB battle for the starting job in 2014 should be a pretty intense one. Welcome aboard.

QB Luke Del Rio emerges at Elite11, NFTC - ESPN

For several athletes, being the child of a high-profile coach can often taint the athletic experience, but Luke said it has only helped him. As the only son in the Del Rio family, he has soaked up the football experience and enjoyed being a part of the game since birth, learning from a defensive-minded coach.

"I actually prefer that he has a defensive mindset rather than an offensive mindset, because at quarterback you attack the defense so you need to understand it," Luke said of his father's influence. "With defenses, you need to know how they line up; if they're going to roll to it, what it's going to look like; how to attack certain coverages that other people might not know how to attack. So I think it's more valuable for me than if he were an offensive coordinator."