Alabama looking to continue its hot start in ’25
The University of Alabama has three commitments in its 2025 recruiting class. The class, led by five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams, ranks No. 2 overall per the On3 Industry Team Rankings. Alabama also has two four-star offensive line commitments in Mason Short, a 6-foot-7, 305-pounder from Evans High School in Georgia, and Dontrell Glover, 6-foot-3, 295-pounds from Langston Hughes High School in Fairburn, Georgia. The next rising junior commitment may happen soon.
The running joke, for the last several years, for recruits who make early commitments- ‘Why does it matter? They’ll flip anyway!’ Yes, there are plenty of players who flip their commitments in each recruiting cycle and many times more than once. There is also a variety of reasons for that: Recruits start exploring other opportunities, new offers arrive, coaching staff changes, desire to stay closer to home or go farther away, NIL, other schools may show more attention, etc. It doesn’t apply to all the players, though.
There has also been situations where players have committed early, re-opened their recruitment and eventually signed with the original school. Alabama has benefited from this scenario with former players like Evan Neal, Xavier McKinney, Shyheim Carter and Trey Sanders. Rueben Foster took it a step further with an early commitment to Alabama, flip to Auburn, and re-opened his recruitment after Gene Chizik was fired. He eventually signed with Alabama.
Alabama doesn’t push for early commitments especially players who have yet to enter their junior season. UA wants to evaluate a recruit’s junior season, but Nick Saban will take an early commitment if an opportunity to see the player in-person (camp, spring evaluation, game). Alabama isn’t a star gazing school. It signs a lot of top 100 players, but does not take a player based on the On300 rankings. UA wants an in-depth evaluation on all players before a committable offer is available. This includes players ranked in the Top 10 overall.
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Is Anthony Rogers next?
Anthony Rogers during unofficial visit to Alabama.
Anthony Rogers, Top 100 running back from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, will announce his college decision on June 2. He recently revealed a top five of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Oregon. Alabama’s offer was extended by Nick Saban after his freshman season at Pike Road High School (Ala.).
It’s hard to know if Alabama would have accepted his commitment on the spot, but after posting more than 2,100 yards of total offense and helping his team win a state championship as a freshman, there was no doubt Rogers would become one of the premier recruits in Southeast (most likely the country).
Rogers is 5-foot-8, 185-pounds, but plays a lot bigger than the size listed. BamaInsider spoke with someone close to Rogers who described what type of player a school will receive when he announces the decision.
“He’s explosive and strong as shit,” he said. “He has freaky athleticism. He’s a lot stronger than people think. He breaks a lot of tackles. He can run, he can catch. He runs like a power back who was shot out of a cannon.
“He could be a lot like Tyreek Hill if he focused on playing receiver, but he’ll be a running back in college. He can still work on his change of direction, but this is a kid with top-level ability. His weight is a little low because of track, but once he shifts complete focus to football he can put on 20-pounds. He’ll need that to be able to pick up blitzes and help in pass protection. Ability wise there is no problem.”
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Rogers returning home next week
The No. 8 running back in the ’25 class, per the On3 Industry Ranking, transferred to IMG Academy earlier this spring. This was a blow to his former team where he has shined the last two seasons. Pike Road had its own coaching staff turnover earlier this year, and Rogers opted for a fresh start elsewhere. He said the time at IMG has been great in terms of his development and better understanding of the game.
Rogers will split time in the backfield with Jerrick Gibson, the No. 2 running back in the 2024 class. He also split time with Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins during his freshman season. He knows there is also split carries at the college of his choice.
“I know I will make big plays,” Rogers told BamaInsider on Monday evening. “I will just be playing my role and doing whatever I need to do to help the team. I want to be a team player. I bring a lot of speed and elusiveness to the offense. I just want to make big plays and help the team win.
“I feel like I understand the game more. I am playing off my athletic ability. My vision has improved. I am understanding who’s blocking who on each play. I am doing a better job of just reading and understanding.”
Rogers will make his way back to Alabama next week. He will not return to IMG until July. The decision will happen next Friday. Alabama currently leads the On3 Sports RPM followed by Auburn, Georgia and Florida. He visited Alabama on March 4. He visited Auburn in January. The Gators hosted Rogers for an unofficial visit last month. These were the only visits this year.
Rogers will reveal the commitment via Twitter (the time not yet determined). He said his family is happy with the decision, but will also support him with any of the five schools. Rogers grew up an Alabama fan, and has visited Tuscaloosa several times. He has family who currently attends Alabama. He also has friends on the team such as Qua Russaw, James Smith and former teammate, Khurtiss Perry.
“I really like the coaching staff,” he said regarding the Crimson Tide. “They make you work for everything you get. That’s the type of program I can see myself being a part of.”
The four-star athlete, who models his game after former NFL running backs Barry Sanders and Chris Johnson, is ‘possibly’ the next commitment in Alabama’s ’25 class. It’s definitely not from a lack of evaluation. The Tide staff has seen him multiple times during live game action. He has attended camps, Junior Day/s and been around the program a lot during the last two years.
It’s never a guarantee a player will choose his childhood dream. He’ll look beyond that factor when announcing the decision. He said the announcement is part of the recruiting process. It doesn’t mean it’s completely over as schools will have plenty of time to recruit. Rogers is not reclassifying. He may not even enroll early (due to track). The decision has been made, the announcement is next Friday. Rogers calls it, “part of the process.”
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Alabama excited about early commitment trio
Alabama WR commitment Ryan Williams on Junior Day visit.
Three commitments are a lot for Alabama at this point. Alabama is not likely to make a habit of filling its ‘junior’ class prior to the start of the season. It seems like more underclassmen offers have been extended with 95% or more remaining contingent on an in-person evaluation. It’s an extremely small number of players who can commit at this time.
Ryan Williams received an offer from Alabama after his camp performance on June 15, 2022. He committed on October 8. Alabama saw him multiple times. He received the offer and committed before becoming the first sophomore to win Mr. Football in Alabama.
Mason Short received an offer last spring, but still needed to camp for offensive line coach Eric Wolford. Dontrell Glover was on Alabama’s radar. His performance during his junior season, which included a live in-game evaluation by the staff, made him one of the Tide’s top offensive line targets in his class. Both were ready to announce after taking several visits. Alabama was happy to accept.
Alabama has taken some questionable early commitments in the past. Some panned out better than expected- some didn’t. A lot of times the commitments happened without an in-person evaluation, maybe the player regressed after showing a lot of promise early in their high school career. Alabama will not take an early commitment lightly, and wants to work the full recruiting process on all players.
The post Alabama looking to continue its hot start in ’25 appeared first on On3.
