Alabama Football Recruiting Update: 3 of Top 10 to Visit

In perhaps the biggest recruiting weekend of the off-season, the Crimson Tide will host nine prospects on Official Visits June 10-12.

Not only will the latest generation of Manning quarterback be in Tuscaloosa, but also three of the top ten and five of the top 24 ranked rising seniors will be in attendance. This batch will have a bit of an international flavor with one European recruit and one from the South Pacific.

OFFICIAL VISITORS

• QB Arch Manning, 5-star, #1 overall, 6-4 / 215 (New Orleans) - Predicting the landing spot of the nation’s top-ranked prospect is a tricky proposition. The Manning family are very savvy about the whole process and will be certain they find the best program for his talents. Despite the commitment by Eli Holstein, Alabama is definitely not out of the running. Arch OV’d Georgia last weekend and will head to Texas on June 17. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Texas
• OT Francis Mauigoa, 5-star, #9, 6-5 / 330 (IMG) - Originally from American Samoa, he has relocated to Florida to play at the IMG Football Factory Academy where he played right tackle opposite Alabama signee Tyler Booker last season. This massive lineman has the size and talent that may remind many of Evan Neal (see below). He has Alabama, Florida, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Miami, and a charitable inclusion of Hawaii in his top 6. He’ll visit the Swamp next Tuesday and then Miami on Monday, June 20. No other OVs are in the works as of yet. It is encouraging that Bama is his only weekend trip. It also doesn’t hurt that he is a big Neal fan. ↓↓↓ WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Lemme get back to you.

• OT Kadyn Proctor, 5-star, #10, 6-7 / 330 (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) - Bama might have a better chance with Manning than with this guy. Many of the experts have this guy pegged as a Hawkeye. Although, the Crimson Tide did manage to wrench Cedar Falls 4-star OL Ross Pierschbacher out of the clutches of Kirk Ferentz in 2014. It appears that Proctor might just be the first 5-star from Iowa and is definitely the highest ranked prospect since Pierschbacher was No. 73. He has not announced any finalists, but his OVs are to Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, and for some reason Arkansas State where he visited on Monday. He won’t OV to Iowa but has been there unofficially about a dozen times. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Iowa
• ILB Anthony Hill, 5-star, #14, 6-2 / 225 (Denton, Texas) - The nation’s top linebacker is also interested in Oklahoma, Texas, Southern Cal, and TAMU (man, I hate this NIL crap). He plans to be an early enrollee. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: TAMU’s money
• RB Richard Young, 5-star, #24, 5-11 / 200 (Lehigh Acres, FL) - The nation’s No. 2 running back looks like an early Tide lean. He has scheduled all his OVs for June. In addition to Alabama, he’ll see Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Oregon. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Alabama

• OT Wilkin Formby, 4-star, #82 (Northridge HS, Tuscaloosa, AL) - It has been awhile since a local kid has been a top prospect at the offensive line position. Although he is a legacy, lives in Tuscaloosa and grew up watching the Crimson Tide, his commitment to Alabama is no slam dunk. He named a final five of Bama, Auburn, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and has an OV planned for LSU. Depending on who you believe, this kid is between 6-7 and 6-8 and weighs around 295-300 lbs. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Ole Miss
• WR/DB Jacobe Johnson, 4-star, #86, 6-3 / 183 (Mustang, OK) - Holmon Wiggins is certainly stirring things up in Oklahoma. Last week, he brought in 4-star Okie natives TE Luke Hasz and WR Cole Adams. This week, it’s this two-way player. He probably ends up a Sooner, but Bama won’t make it easy on OU. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Okie
• LB Raul Aguirre, 4-star, #117, 6-2 / 215-220 (Fayetteville, GA) - This inside linebacker appears to be down to Alabama, Florida, and Ohio State. Interestingly, he shows little interest in Georgia which makes him all that more likeable. However, he’s originally from south Florida and grew up following the ‘Canes. He could probably use another 10-15 pounds or so. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Florida
• OT Olaus Alinen, 4-star, #122, 6-6 / 315 (Windsor, Connecticut) - If you have “Finland” on your Saban Crootin Bingo Card, you might be in luck. Olaus’s father, Klaus Alinen, played American football in the NFL Europe League for many years and even spent a season as a tight end on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. Now, his son is getting the boost that he never had by playing high school ball in the USA. Before arriving stateside, the younger Alinen played in a a semi-professional league against grown men at age 16. He had an unofficial visit to Tuscaloosa last November and was hooked. Although he has OVs lined up for Ohio State and Georgia, the Crimson Tide appears to be the leader. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Alabama
• WR/DB Eugene Wilson 4-star, #144 (Tampa, FL) - May or may not be in town, but probably not worth investing your time in. He is likely Swamp-bound. WAY TOO EARLY PICK: Florida

COMMIT VISIT

• QB Eli Holstein, 4-star, #59, 6-4 / 222 (Zachary LA) - Bama’s quarterback commit will be in attendance but in an unofficial capacity. Perhaps he wants to size up this Arch kid everyone is talking about? It will be nice having him there to bend the ears of some of these other fellas as well.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 OV

• WR Malik Benson 6-1 / 185, Hutchinson C.C. (Lansing, KS) - This croot is undertaking a whirlwind two weeks of OVs with a June 3 trip to LSU, followed by a stop at Tennessee on June 10. Then he’ll be in Tuscaloosa on June 15 and June 17 at Georgia. Due to the weekday visit and the quick turnaround, it would seem Bama is not a serious contender for him. (No juco rankings have been calculated at this time.)

KICKERS

Alabama is hosting their annual kicking camp on Saturday. This year, it is more of an audition. Some sources have said that current Bama kicker Will Reichard will forgo any fifth year options and move on to the next stage of his life. Thus, there is a belief that the Crimson Tide will make an offer to at least one kicker after this weekend.

Hoover’s Peyton Argent is a prime candidate. Kohl’s Professional Camps projects him as the nation’s #8 kicker. Hold your head up, Peyton!

TEAM RANKINGS

Are you freaking out because Alabama’s 2023 class is ranked #33 in team rankings??!?!?!

Well, fear not. The 247 team rankings are weighted measurements. Texas Tech is currently ranked second but that is becuase they have 20 commits. 15 of those are 3-stars and two are 0-stars.

The Crimson Tide has a measly FOUR commits. However, they have the highest average individual rankings by a wide margin.

1. #33 Alabama, 4 Commits, 96.09
2. #11 Southern Cal, 7 Commits, 94.33
3. #10 Georgia, 8 Commits, 92.89
4. #1 Notre Dame, 14 Commits, 92.79
5. #5 Ohio State, 10 Commits, 92.67
6. #28 Texas, 5 Commits, 92.48
7. #18 Oregon, 6 Commits, 92.14
8. #30 LSU, 5 Commits, 92.06
9. #32 Texas A&M, 5 Commits, 91.49
10. #12 Clemson, 8 Commits, 91.46