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Alabama Receives Exciting Update on 5-Star EDGE

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alec Musa | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 11:41 PM ET

The consensus around the Alabama Crimson Tide football program this summer is that they will be just fine under head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Last season, Alabama posted a 9-4 record, and although impressive on the surface, they failed to win double-digit games for the first time since 2017. The Crimson Tide lost two of their final three games, while missing the College Football Playoff field for the second time in three seasons.

Many fans and pundits alike questioned DeBoer, the successor to six-time national championship-winning frontman Nick Saban. However, Alabama and DeBoer have done a great job silencing the haters this offseason, specifically with their development of the 2026 recruiting class.

According to 247Sports, Alabama boasts the sixth-best recruiting class for the 2026 group, securing hard commitments from 12 prospects in the last month. More notably, the Tide are nowhere near done, with elite prospects likely on the horizon.

On Thursday, uncommitted five-star edge rusher Anthony "Tank" Jones revealed his final three schools, with the Crimson Tide making the list. Jones is also considering the Texas A&M Aggies and the Oregon Ducks.

The seventh-ranked edge rusher and a five-star in the 247COMPOSITE, Jones is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound pass rusher from Mobile, Alabama. The Tide are looking to keep Jones instate after posting 84 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 16 sacks last year.

If DeBoer and his staff can land Jones, he will be the team's second five-star verbal commit for 2026, joining edge Xavier Griffin. The Alabama Crimson Tide also houses pledges from fellow pass rushers Jamarion Matthews and Kamhariyan Johnson, signifying a desire to possess a war chest of edge defenders.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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