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SEC Rival Steals Elite College Football Recruit From Alabama

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 6:03 PM ET

The Alabama Crimson Tide is fresh off a 9-4 season under head coach Kalen DeBoer, who went 25-3 in two seasons with the Washington Huskies.

Alabama has two commits from linebackers in the 2026 class, in five-star prospect Xavier Griffin and three-star recruit Zay Hall, but missed the chance to make it three.

Rivals' Hayes Fawcett reported Saturday that four-star linebacker Anthony Davis Jr. picked the Ole Miss Rebels over Alabama, the Auburn Tigers and Michigan Wolverines.

Davis hails from Grayson High School in Logansville, Georgia, and is listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds. The linebacker predicted a national title would be coming to Oxford soon.

"Oxford, let's do it, Natty otw!" Davis said.

Davis is the No. 20 linebacker in the Rivals Industry Rankings for the 2026 class. Other schools interested in him featured the Florida Gators, USC Trojans, Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns, Tennessee Volunteers and others.

Despite not landing Davis, Alabama still has one of the best recruiting classes in the 2026 cycle, coming in at No. 7 overall on On3 Sports.

The Crimson Tide is having a historic run with the class, as one of two schools with four five-star commits, alongside Oregon. Alabama could have taken the lead, but five-star edge rusher Anthony "Tank" Jones pledged to Dan Lanning and Oregon instead.

Alabama's five-star commits include safety Jireh Edwards, Griffin, receiver Cederian Morgan and cornerback Jorden Edmonds.

Even though the Crimson Tide did not win the race for Davis, things appear to be doing just fine in recruiting.

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

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