Alabama adds another elite playmaker to nation’s No. 2 recruiting class
nation’s No. 2 recruiting class
The Crimson Tide entered Tuesday with the No. 2 class nationally in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, a group that featured commitments from six of the nation’s top 50 prospects. That number is now seven after elite four-star Quitman (Miss.) running back Akylin Dear gave his pledge to Alabama Tuesday afternoon.
The 6-foot, 200-pounder is the No. 38 prospect nationally and No. 2 running back in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Dear decommitted from Ole Miss at the end of June, and the Tide quickly became the overwhelming favorite to land his commitment. He visited Tuscaloosa at the end of July, and nearly a month later they’ve got him in their class.
“Since the first time I visited Alabama, I knew that was where I was going to end up,” he told On3’s Chad Simmons. “I have been there eight or nine times and I have always had that feeling. It goes back to when coach Nick Saban was there. Something about the feeling at Alabama has always been different.
“The new coaching staff makes me feel right at home. When I am there with coach G (Robert Gillespie), coach DeBoer and the staff now, it feels like I am in Quitman (Miss.). The feeling is like home and I feel loved.”
He becomes the latest major addition for DeBoer and Co., who have been a tear since June 1.
Alabama’s two highest-rated commits joined the class in the month of July, and they did it on back-to-back days. Denton (Texas) Ryan five-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood committed to the Tide on July 14, one day after DeBoer landed a pledge from Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham
additions from June: Mission Viejo (Calif.) five-star cornerback Dijon Lee and Duncanville (Texas) five-star quarterback Keelon Russell, who flipped away from SMU.
Additional top-100 pledges for the Crimson Tide include Eastman (Ga.) Dodge County four-star athlete Darrell Johnson, Cincinnati Winton Woods edge rusher Justin Hill, Doylestown (Pa.) Central Bucks East interior offensive lineman Michael Carroll, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei cornerback Chuck McDonald and Carmel (Calif.) offensive tackle Jackson Lloyd.
