Alabama finds out where they stand for 5-star prospect days after hearing they'd be 'hard not to pick' by star target

Because he wanted to play early, he likely saw youngsters Zabien Brown, Domani Jackson, Dijon Lee, and Chuck McDonald as barriers to hitting the field right away. He lauded the Tide's California ties to make it "feel like home," but it wasn't enough.

Instead, the Aggies are favored to land him in projections. There is some burgeoning optimism that Oregon will keep him on the West Coast, though.

“It is the people at A&M,” Arrington previously told On3’s Chad Simmons. “They all want me and they recruit me hard. From the start, it never changed with A&M. They recruited me the same, they built relationships and how consistent they have been stands out.”

Justin Hopkins of Scoop Duck isn't confident enough to call the chase for Arrington quite yet, either.

After reading the update from Blair Angulo many are talking about I figured I’d offer what I’ve heard. It sounds like his commitment is nearly certain to happen sooner than later. And most think that is this week. We’ve seen these types of developments before so proceed with caution.

I’m not ready to call this one for Oregon personally. I think Texas A&M is a very real threat and I just wonder if Bama is trying to keep the heat off of them. I will say internally Oregon is not as confident at this moment on their chances as Angulo is.

At the end of the day, this is a notable loss for Alabama. They already missed on Justice Fitzpatrick, and while their recruiting class in 2026 is impressive, their secondary could use more high-end talent to bridge the gap from their current corps to the 2027 and beyond unit.