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After months of hand-wringing from Alabama fans, the Crimson Tide has picked up some major recruiting wins in the last few weeks with commits from 5-star lineman JC Latham and the fastest receiver in the class in Christian Leary.
On the heels of that, the Tide looks set to keep on adding elite talent. Last week, Alabama extended an offer to the 4-star running back out of Ohio, Gi’Bran Payne, who was previously only being recruited by the Big 10 schools. With the Tide having taken three running backs in the 2020 class, they can afford to be picky with the running backs they choose to offer this cycle.
Following that up, Payne’s high school teammate, cornerback Devonta Smith, just decommitted from Ohio State. Smith was a slot receiver until switching to cornerback early last season, and had a tremendous first season at corner, earning him a 4-star ranking. Again, Alabama is the only non northern team to give him an offer, and most now expect him to be strongly favoring the Crimson Tide and to commit sooner rather than later.
Next up, defensive end Dallas Turner out of powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas is scheduled to announce his commitment on July 1st. The top-50 player is right on the cusp of being a 5-star, and has repeatedly stated that Alabama is his favorite and where he feels the most comfortable.
In 2022 cycle news, Alabama just picked up a commitment from Robert Woodyard, the #2 inside linebacker in the country and a top-60 player out of Mobile, Alabama. He joins defensive end and #11th overall player in Jeremiah Alexander for the Tide’s 2022 class.