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[WRITER’S NOTE: Piggybacking off of Brent Taylor’s Alabama Football Recruiting Bust Rates post from Tuesday, I though it might be interesting to “side-note” the current state of players who were recruited to Alabama during the pandemic. As Brent mentioned, the Classes of 2021 and 2022 still have a lot of TBDs. So, grain of salt and all that.]
It has been three years since the Captain Trips panic arrived and disrupted daily lives across the globe. The shut-downs started around mid-March of 2020. For college football recruiting, that meant no in-contact recruiting and no Official Visits by anyone. At that time, schools were recruiting for the Class of 2021.
CLASS OF 2021
For most of the recruits who committed in spring and early summer of 2020, it has to be assumed that most of the face-to-face recruiting had already been done by that point.
In the case of the Crimson Tide, they had one commit by March in likely 2023 starting middle linebacker Deontae Lawson.
The second commit was DL Anquin Barnes, who despite being a 4-star, is looking like he’ll not be seeing vital playing time anytime soon. The third was His Royal Bustness, Mega-Bustosaurus, Notorious B.U.S.T. Agiye Hall. All these prospects had visited Tuscaloosa and personally met with coaches in one form or another. It is hard to blame shut-downs on these signings.
May brought three new commitments. Starting WR Jacorey Brooks had unofficially visited Alabama for the 2019 TSIO. DB Kaine Williams, who left the team in 2022, had been on several unofficials to T-town. The same goes for LB Ian Jackson, who is currently buried in the depth chart.
June was another HIT-BUST-TBD month as the Tide received pledges from starting tackle JC Latham, WR Christian Leary, and DB Devonta Smith. And so it went. There is no real evidence that supports that this Class is/will be drastically different from other classes.
Moving down to December, Alabama got a pair of LSU flips from WR JoJo Earle and LB Keanu Koht. RB Camar Wheaton, OL Jaeden Roberts, and DB Terrion Arnold also committed. Earle and Wheaton have transferred out. Arnold was a Freshman All-American last season. Koht has played some special teams. Roberts has played a dozen or so snaps late in garbage time.
| POS | NAME | STARS | RANK* | COMMIT DATE | STATUS |
| LB | Deontae Lawson | 5 | 29 | 12/27/19 | Starter |
| DT | Anquin Barnes | 4 | 373 | 04/17/20 | Depth |
| WR | Agiye Hall | 4 | 62 | 04/18/20 | Gone |
| WR | Jacorey Brooks | 5 | 27 | 05/08/20 | Starter |
| DB | Kaine Williams | 4 | 292 | 05/15/20 | Gone |
| LB | Ian Jackson | 4 | 216 | 05/28/20 | Depth |
| OL | JC Latham | 5 | 5 | 06/12/20 | Starter |
| WR | Christian Leary | 4 | 127 | 06/16/20 | Gone |
| DB | Devonta Smith | 4 | 154 | 06/29/20 | Depth |
| LB | Dallas Turner | 5 | 12 | 07/01/20 | Starter |
| DB | Kadarius Calloway | 4 | 175 | 07/08/20 | Gone |
| LB | Kendrick Blackshire | 4 | 222 | 07/14/20 | Depth |
| OL | Tommy Brockermeyer | 5 | 10 | 07/17/20 | Gone |
| OL | James Brockermeyer | 4 | 300 | 07/17/20 | Depth |
| OL | Terrence Ferguson | 4 | 83 | 07/19/20 | Possible Starter |
| DT | Damon Payne | 5 | 39 | 07/26/20 | Depth |
| DB | Khyree Jackson | 4 | JUCO 3 | 08/15/20 | Gone |
| DE | Monkell Goodwine | 4 | 123 | 08/15/20 | Depth |
| QB | Jalen Milroe | 4 | 109 | 08/17/20 | Possible Starter |
| DT | Tim Keenan | 3 | 599 | 08/29/20 | Depth |
| TE | Robbie Ouzts | 3 | 689 | 09/08/20 | Key Contributor |
| DB | Kool-Aid McKinstry | 5 | 13 | 10/25/20 | Starter |
| WR | JoJo Earle | 4 | 79 | 12/16/20 | Gone |
| DE | Keanu Koht | 4 | 61 | 12/16/20 | Depth |
| RB | Camar Wheaton | 5 | 63 | 12/23/20 | Gone |
| OL | Jaeden Roberts | 3 | 517 | 12/25/20 | Depth |
| DB | Terrion Arnold | 5 | 26 | 02/03/21 | Possible Starter |
| WR | Jameson Williams | 3** | 05/03/21 | Starter | |
| LB | Henry To'o To'o | 4** | 05/08/21 | Starter | |
| P | Jack Martin | 2** | 05/17/21 | Gone |
*According to 247sports Composite Rankings.
**According to 247sports Transfer Rankings.
This recruiting cycle really was a mixed bag as everyone was learning how to negotiate the tough hands they were dealt. Some good gets, some bad, some to be determined. Conversely, Bama did pretty well in the Transfer Portal with WR Jameson Williams and LB Henry To’o To’o. [It was widely believed Jack Martin was not on fall scholarship.] Although the Tide coaches were well familiar with To’o To’o from his original recruitment out of high school, Williams was lesser known among the staff.
CLASS OF 2022
Restrictions lingered on into 2021 as staffs attempted to build the Class of 2022. On June 1, 2021, the 15 month recruiting Dead Period finally came to an end. Players were once again allowed to take Official Visits and have face to face contact with coaches. By this time, Alabama had four commits. TE Elijah Brown did not work out but QB Ty Simpson, WR Emmanuel Henderson, and DT Jaheim Oatis look like keepers.
| POS | NAME | STARS | RANK* | COMMIT DATE | STATUS |
| TE | Elijah Brown | 4 | 241 | 02/12/21 | Gone |
| QB | Ty Simpson | 5 | 29 | 02/26/21 | Possible Starter |
| ATH | Emmanuel Henderson | 4 | 59 | 03/13/21 | Depth |
| DT | Jaheim Oatis | 4 | 92 | 04/14/21 | Starter |
| WR | Amari Niblack | 4 | 99 | 06/24/21 | Depth |
| DB | Antonio Kite | 4 | 227 | 07/04/21 | Depth |
| DE | Jeremiah Alexander | 5 | 50 | 07/08/21 | Depth |
| OL | Tyler Booker | 4 | 60 | 07/16/21 | Starter |
| LB | Shawn Murphy | 4 | 142 | 07/25/21 | Rising |
| WR | Kobe Prentice | 4 | 89 | 07/27/21 | Key Contributor |
| OL | Dayne Shor | 3 | 596 | 07/31/21 | Gone |
| DB | Jake Pope | 3 | 327 | 08/16/21 | Depth |
| OL | Elijah Pritchett | 5 | 31 | 09/28/21 | Possible Starter |
| DB | Trequon Fegans | 4 | 105 | 10/18/21 | Depth |
| WR | Aaron Anderson | 4 | 49 | 10/29/21 | Gone |
| DT | Isaiah Hastings | 4 | 139 | 11/09/21 | Depth |
| RB | Jamarion Miller | 4 | 79 | 11/25/21 | Rising |
| WR | Isaiah Bond | 4 | 43 | 12/07/21 | Possible Starter |
| LB | Jihaad Campbell | 5 | 16 | 12/15/21 | Possible Starter |
| DE | Khurtiss Perry | 4 | 54 | 12/15/21 | Depth |
| DB | Earl Little | 4 | 84 | 12/15/21 | Possible Starter |
| WR | Shazz Preston | 4 | 120 | 12/15/21 | Depth |
| ATH | Kendrick Law | 4 | 86 | 12/17/21 | Possible Starter |
| TE | Danny Lewis | 3 | 554 | 02/02/22 | Moving Up |
| TE | Miles Kitselman | 0 | JUCO | 05/05/22 | Depth |
| DB | Eli Ricks | 5** | 12/15/21 | Key Contributor | |
| RB | Jahmyr Gibbs | 5** | 12/21/21 | Starter | |
| WR | Jermaine Burton | 4** | 01/23/22 | Starter | |
| OL | Tyler Steen | 4** | 04/12/22 | Starter | |
| WR | Tyler Harrell | 4** | 04/22/22 | Gone |
*According to 247sports Composite Rankings.
**According to 247sports Transfer Rankings.
In summation, it appears it does not matter when a recruit commits or how he is recruited. All that matters is how he performs on the field. Imagine that.
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