Alabama football made impressive moves with multiple 2025 recruits this month and is in a position to possibly land a few over the next few weeks.
The Crimson Tide have worked themselves in a great position with several recruits, who are eyeing commitment announcements. Here is a look at those recruits:
Caleb Cunningham – 5-Star WR
Cunningham is a five-star wide receiver out of Choctaw County High School out of Ackerman, Mississippi. He officially visited Alabama last weekend and shared the Tide was at the top of his recruitment.
“It is resources there, the love and the coaching staff,” Cunningham said. “Bama is bama. They made me feel like one of their main priorities, and it is only two hours away from home. It’s a great place to be for my position as a wide receiver. They send guys to the league.”
The five-star is eyeing a July commitment.
At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, the sophomore is an athletic prospect with a big frame, who can run. He is a tough cover for every high school corner with his speed, size and ability to go up and get the football out of the air.
Ty Haywood – 5-Star OL
Haywood is a product of Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, and he is a five-star on multiple recruiting sites. The Tide looks to be in a solid position with the five-star after securing commitments from Keelon Russell and a host of other top offensive linemen this month.
Haywood is a massive offensive tackle for Ryan High School (TX) at 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds. His strength and size allow him to physically dominate most high school defensive linemen. He seems to have a great understanding of a wide variety of blocking assignments. He has shown the ability to be effective in pass protection, zone blocking and combo blocking. He also appears comfortable blocking in space with his ability to get to the second level.
Kaliq Lockett – 5-Star WR
Lockett is a five-star wide receiver out of Sachse High School in Texas, and he is rated as a five-star by most recruiting sites. He is now eyeing a commitment announcement after recently officially visiting Alabama and Texas.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder thrives in contested-catching situations with his ability to go up and get the football and display great ball skills and concentration. He also flashes the ability to be a deceptive route runner and make plays after the catch.
Dijon Lee – 5-Star DB
Lee is down to Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and Washington. He is fresh off an official visit with Alabama as the Crimson Tide have been his perceived front-runner for the last few weeks. The five-star will announce his commitment this Saturday.
At 6-foot-4 and approximately 190 pounds, Lee has great length and range while playing in the secondary. He has the potential to be a shutdown corner at the collegiate level with his ability to his size and reach to his advantage. He also appears to have a great feel for the game as he consistently seems to be in the right place to make a play.
Akylin Dear – 4-Star RB
Dear attends Quitman High School in Mississippi, and he garners a four-star rating from most recruiting sites. The rising senior is currently committed to Ole Miss, but Alabama is in a position to pick him up if he backs off his pledge to the Rebels.
The Tide has been a major player in Dear’s recruitment for more than a year with him having a well-established relationship with Alabama’s running back coach Robert Gillespie. He had glowing reviews for Alabama’s staff following his visit.
“The people at Alabama are the people you want around you, like cool people,” Dear told Touchdown Alabama.
Deer was a tenacious runner with an explosive burst as a junior. The four-star finished the 2023 football season with 2,016 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns.
Travis Smith Jr.- 4-Star WR
Smith is a product of Westlake High School in Georgia, and he is a consensus four-star recruit. Alabama has continued to prioritize the four-star since offering him months ago.
The Tide was able to give Smith ‘exclusive’ treatment during his official visit.
“It was amazing,” Smith told Touchdown Alabama. “I was the only receiver on an official visit this weekend, so it felt very exclusive. Me and my family had a great time. I spent a lot of time with the Staff, especially Coach Shepherd, who is a high-energy coach that knows how to produce NFL caliber guys at that position.
The Georgia product is a bigger wide receiver at 6-foot-4 and approximately 200 pounds. His size and athleticism allow him to strive in jump-ball situations and when he is called upon to catch in traffic. He also runs his routes under control.
Dawson Merritt – 4-Star LB
Merritt is down to Alabama and Nebraska. A decision is expected to come at any time over the next few weeks, per Merritt.
“I’m not sure yet but probably the end of June or July,” Merritt previously told Touchdown Alabama.
The four-star linebacker attends Blue Valley High School in Kansas, and the Crimson Tide got him on campus for a third time for his official visit earlier this month.
The Kansas product is 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds with very long arms. He is a versatile linebacker, who makes plays from the edge and off the ball. He excels in space and playing sideline to sideline as an athletic prospect. His style of play works well at linebacker in today’s game with how most teams like to sling the ball around.
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Justin Smith is the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
