Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide get one step closer to pulling top-100 offensive weapon out of unlikely recruiting area

While Illinois is the home state for Sutter, and have done a tremendous job in that recruitment, this does look like a battle between the other three. Alabama moved one step closer to closing on arguably the highest upside tight end in the 2026 class. Sutter has a crazy amount of tools to work with, and upside to tap into. 

Sutter is considered a four-star player by every major recruiting platform, and a near consensus top-100 overall recruit. On the 247Sports Composite ranking, Sutter is currently rated as the No. 80 overall player, No. 6 tight end, and No. 1 player from the state of Illinois in the 2026 recruiting class. The On3 Industry ranking has Sutter pegged as the No. 99 overall player in the class. 

There have been a long list of notable suitors that have pursued Sutter even outside of his finalists. Some of his other top offers include Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, Michigan, LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Penn State, Miami, Florida, USC, Florida State, Auburn, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Missouri, NC State, Arkansas, South Carolina, Kentucky, Colorado, UNC, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Washington, Iowa, Michigan State, Indiana, SMU, UCLA, Minnesota, Iowa State, Boston College, Duke, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Purdue, and Northwestern among others. 

As a junior, Sutter was a dominant player for Dunlap on both sides of the football. In 10 games, he managed to haul in 35 receptions for 505 yards and seven touchdowns. The 6-5, 230-pound athlete also recorded 36 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, six sacks, one interception, and two forced fumbles on defense. He threw for 119 yards and rushed for another 21 yards on the ground as well.