Alabama GM makes future plans crystal clear after Crimson Tide's 5-star recruiting blitz

Head coach Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide are in the midst of one of the hottest recruiting surges in the 2026 class after a recent string of five-star commitments.

Alabama's ultimately disappointing 9-4 season in DeBoer's first year at the helm left much to be desired for Crimson Tide faithful. However, as the program searches for answers on the field, recruiting hasn't been a weakness for the new regime that was tasked with replacing legendary head coach Nick Saban.

DeBoer, supported by general manager Courtney Morgan and the Yea Alabama NIL collective, hauled in the nation's No. 3 class in the 2025 cycle despite the major transition after Saban's retirement.

And things haven't lost a step in the 2026 class, as Alabama leads the country with five five-star commits – three more than the next closest schools – with four of those pledges coming in the last two weeks.

Morgan, who previously served under DeBoer at Washington as director of player personnel and general manager, signed with Alabama in 2024 as the highest-paid front office employee in college football when inking a 3-year deal worth $825,000 annually.

“It’s really a culmination of a year of hard work,” Morgan said via Rivals' Adam Gorney. “To us, it’s really not over until it’s over. It’s good momentum but we also know we have to keep them until December."

The plan now, in part, shifts to keeping those highly-coveted prospects in the fold as other programs push for flips. Commitments in the NIL era aren't worth as much as they used to be, as prospects are routinely approached with enticing packages to pledge and sign elsewhere.

Alabama's class currently ranks fifth nationally, includes 19 commitments and averages $183,000 in NIL valuation per recruit.

The Crimson Tide can afford to be extremely competitive from an NIL perspective, as NCAA estimates project the program to spend $15.9 million in 2025, ranking seventh nationally and fifth in the SEC.