Oregon pulls the rug out from under Alabama by stealing away five-star instate recruit who felt like a must-have player

The decision had been trending this way over the last 24 hours with On3’s Steve Wiltfong reporting a late Oregon push on Wednesday afternoon. This is now the second consecutive year that both Alabama and Auburn haven’t landed the top player from the state, as five-star cornerback Na’eem Offord also chose the Ducks during the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Obviously, this decision hurts the perception for Alabama. Defensive line is a need for the 2026 class, and while the Crimson Tide have put together a solid group that includes players such as top-100 recruit Nolan Wilson, four-star Kamhariyan Johnson and others, Jones would’ve give Kalen DeBoer and company a sweep of the top four players in the state.

Don’t get me wrong, Alabama will be fine. They’re not going to get into a back-and-forth bidding war for recruits, and while that can cause frustration for fans, it’s the right approach. What happens with guys such as five-star wide receiver Cederian Morgan and No. 2 ranked running back Ezavier Crowell if you “make Tank the exception?” What about the guys who are established on your roster? You’ve got to start coming up with a lot more money to pay a lot of other guys once you play the bidding war game, which is why the Tide won’t do it.

Is this an unfortunate loss? Absolutely. There’s no sugar coating it. Alabama still has a great class with a few other targets left on the board, but Jones feels like a Peter Woods-caliber miss. The Tide have remained competitive without Woods, and they’ll remain competitive without Jones, should he choose to stay committed to Oregon. Nowadays, development feels even more important, and Alabama’s staff has the ability to evaluate diamonds in the rough and develop talent.

That will keep the Tide competitive, both in the immediate and the future. Thursday was another brutal reminder that it’s a new recruiting game out there, and in an NIL era, sometimes you’re going to miss on key guys that felt like a must have. So how do you adapt and move on? Have a plan and stick to it, especially when that plan has been successful everywhere you’ve been.