5-star RB committed elsewhere sets up Alabama official visit
Another five-star prospect in the Class of 2025 has scheduled his official visit with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
On Wednesday, five-star running back Akylin Dear informed BamaOnLine that he will take an official to Alabama next month. Dear is slated to be on campus from June 14-16. This is the same weekend that fellow top-100 recruits OL Jackson Lloyd, EDGE Justin Hill, and WR Travis Smith will be on campus.
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Dear is the No. 29 overall prospect, per the On3 Industry Rankings. He’s also tabbed as the No. 2 running back in this recruiting cycle, as well as the second-ranked prospect in the state of Mississippi.
In-state Ole Miss was rewarded with Dear’s commitment back on March 30. That commitment came just over a week and a half after Dear stepped foot on Alabama’s campus for a spring visit (March 21).
Bama running backs coach Robert Gillespie has shown Dear that he’s still a priority. The two stay in consistent communication, with Gillespie stopping by to see Dear on the first day that the staff hit the road during the spring evaluation period, which was April 22.
Dear is one of five running backs who has scheduled a June official visit to Alabama thus far. The others are Bo Jackson, Jamarion Morrow, Jordon Davison, and Shekai Mills-Knight.
Dear has spoken highly of Alabama in the past
While Alabama has a mostly new staff, the retaining of Gillespie was key in the pursuit of several running back targets, Dear included. That’s a longstanding relationship that goes back to when Gillespie extended an offer to Dear on March 8, 2023.
In an interview with BOL back in February, Dear stated that Gillespie is very high on his skill set.
“Coach G, we’ve been talking a lot,” Dear previously told BOL. “He wants me for sure. He said I run like Leonard Fournette.”
On300 RB Akylin Dear on a previous visit to Alabama.
Along with Gillespie seeing him last month, Dear was visited at his school by a couple of Bama coaches in January. He was one of the first stops for head coach Kalen DeBoer, who was accompanied by defensive coordinator Kane Wommack on that Jan. 24 visit to Quitman High School.
“My first time seeing Coach Kalen DeBoer when he came to my school, my heart was beating. I was like, ‘This is the new coach that just coached in the natty,’” Dear told BOL in February. “He finally came down and said good things about me. He said in the Class of 2025, I’m his top running back.”
Alabama already has a running back committed, but Dear said at the time of our conversation that he wouldn’t mind being a part of a two-running back class.
“Me and Anthony [Rogers], we could be a good duo,” Dear said. “So, that’s not a big deal to me.”
Last year, Dear rushed for 2,016 yards, 27 rushing touchdowns, and even had three passing touchdowns. You can check out his full junior season highlights in the video below!
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