Jordan Renaud on Alabama committment: 'They’re grinding in the dark and in the mud at night when the lights are off'

Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide are used to getting wins both on the football field and on the recruiting trail. Landing 4-star defensive lineman Jordan Renaud is no different in that regard for Alabama.

Renaud is one of the top recruits in the 2023 class. He's a nearly 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive lineman as a senior in high school. He has elite athleticism and agility for his size but also plays strong at the line of scrimmage — where he projects to be a dominant run-stopper who has the ability and speed to get after the quarterback.

Notably, Renaud decided to commit to Alabama over Oklahoma, but he also boasted offers from Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas among others.

“Let me just be for real. I feel like me personally, I picked Bama because it’s going to stretch me to the max,” Renaud told BamaOnLine. “Like, I don’t want anything to be handed to me. I feel like they get the best out of their players. I feel like a lot of people just see the glitz and the glamour of Bama being Alabama. But they’re grinding in the dark and in the mud at night when the lights are off and doing it like that. But when showtime Saturday comes, they’re diamonds, they’re gold. With them staying down and keeping their heads down, just grinding, by the time they get on TV and they come through and they say their 'Roll Tides,' it changes the energy and the demeanor. That’s why — because they work. I chose Bama because they work. That culture and that culture of competition attracted me to that.”

Of course, the opportunity to be coached by Saban also was a huge reason Renaud committed to Alabama.

“I felt like more honored than anything because to be picked out by a coach of his status is like one in a million,” Renaud said. “I feel like the only people that are chosen are select few. It’s for the mentally strong. If you’re not mentally strong you won’t survive there. I felt like coach Saban sees something in me that makes me attractive to him. So I feel blessed, honestly.”

According to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, Renaud is the No. 7 defensive lineman as well as the No. 69 overall recruit in the country.