Nick Saban can’t help but have a sense of déjà vu. A little more than a decade after recruiting Dre Kirkpatrick as part of the 2009 class, the Alabama head coach is now looking to reel in the former Crimson Tide cornerback’s son to his future secondary.
Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., a defensive back in the 2024 class, visited Alabama with his father over the weekend, touring his dad’s old stomping grounds while receiving his own recruiting pitch from Saban.
“Every time I do something he’s seen my dad do before, he’ll be like ‘Oh, you’re just like your dad,” the younger Kirkpatrick told BamaCentral. “He said my dad was one of his favorite players. He’s trying to recruit me heavily to get me in there. He likes my physicality and how I get the ball and stuff like that.”
The younger Kirkpatrick stands in at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. Unlike his dad, who starred at cornerback for the Crimson Tide before playing the position for 10 seasons in the NFL, the high school sophomore sees himself at safety at the next level. Still, he understands where Saban’s comparisons come from.
“We both got a lot of speed,” the younger Kirkpatrick said of his father. “We both go get the ball. If the ball’s in the air, nine times out of 10 we’re either going to pick it off or we’re going to deflect it. We’re not going to get caught on.”
Like his father before him, the younger Kirkpatrick plays his high school ball at Gadsden City High School in Gadsden, Ala. He said he currently keeps in contact with Alabama two or three times a month, speaking primarily with cornerbacks coach Travaris Robinson and safeties coach Charles Kelly, who both tell him he’d be a nice fit in the Crimson Tide’s secondary.
After watching his fair share of Alabama games the past few years, the young defender tends to agree.
“I like their Cover 3,” Kirpatrick Jr. said, “because I like to play strong safety, and their Cover 3 would allow me to be really physical.”
Along with his obvious family connections to Alabama, the younger Kirkpatrick is also close with current Crimson Tide cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. The older Kirkpatrick has served as a mentor for McKinstry, even helping him land his famous NIL deal with his namesake drink brand last year.
“Me and Kool-Aid hang out all the time,” the younger Kirkpatrick said. “Even when I’m at home, he’ll come by the house. We’ve been close since even before he was at Alabama. I used to go to his games when he was at Pinson Valley.
“When me and him talk, we honestly don’t talk too much about college because I don’t know where I’m going yet. When he comes around, we just play games, play Madden and just have fun.”
Following this weekend’s visit, the Kirkpatricks will travel to Georgia on Tuesday. The young defender is also hoping to make a return trip to Auburn as well as visits to Clemson, Georgia Tech, Southern Miss and Tennessee in the near future.
Gallery: Dre Kirpatrick Jr.
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