Mobile 2027 defensive lineman commits to Alabama

Avrian “AJ” Pauley announced a verbal commitment to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday.

Pauley attends McGill-Toolen High School in Mobile, Alabama, and he is considered a 2027 three-star defensive lineman prospect. The in-state recruit becomes the Tide’s fourth 2027 commit. Pauley is excited to join an Alabama program he considers to be an elite one.

“I still see Alabama as a dominant program,” Pauley told Touchdown Alabama. “I feel like nothing has changed. It’s a new era, and I want to be one of the pioneers of that new era. I want to start something after Alabama. I want to be somebody that you can look back at it like, under this new Kalen DeBoer era and say he was there, he was doing his thing. That’s what I want.”

The Tide offered Pauley during the 2025 season and worked their way to the front of his recruitment. The entire Alabama recruiting staff played a role in this.

“Everybody, like the people that helped me and walked me around, they act as if they know me personally, like they know me for real,” Pauley said. “That’s something that I admired, you know. All the coaches and stuff, they come up to me and are like, ‘what’s up AJ, how you doing AJ,’ things like that. I love that.”

Alabama beat out Ole Miss, Florida State and others to land Pauley’s commitment.

At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Pauley has the potential to play multiple positions along the defensive front at the next level with his versatility.

Watch Avrian Pauley’s Highlights Below: