Alabama football enrolled a good portion of its 2023 recruiting class in January.
Each of the Crimson Tide’s early enrollees will participate in the Crimson Tide’s full off-season program. Touchdown Alabama will highlight each of Alabama’s newest additions over the next few weeks in an article series.
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We continue our series with former five-star defensive back, Jahlil Hurley.
Jahlil Hurley
-Classification: Freshman
–Position: Cornerback
-Hometown: Florence, Alabama
-Height: 6-foot-2
-Weight: 170 pounds
–Summary: Hurley was one of the top defensive backs in the country in the 2023 recruiting class.
The Florence product has the length Nick Saban and Alabama have prioritized at the cornerback position in recent years. At 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, Hurley has long arms and a long frame. His length allows him to defend taller wideouts on an island and his impressive wingspan gives him an opportunity to rip the ball away in coverage.
The former five-star shined in multiple coverages during his time at Florence High School. His length allowed him to consistently get his hands on wide receivers when they got off the line of scrimmage when playing press coverage while attempting to stay square as long as possible. He can also smoothly and fluidly flips his hips and turn and run with wide receivers.
The Alabama freshman was rarely out of position in zone coverage. Hurley also displayed ball skills on both sides of the football, serving as a threat at wide receiver.
Alabama football returns two cornerbacks in Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold, who started games last season. Hurley will have to challenge both of them to earn a starting job, but the door is wide open to work himself into the rotation on Alabama’s depth chart in year one.
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Justin Smith is the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
