2027 Recruiting: 2027 Recruiting Thread

[AlexanderFan]

Neither of those amounts offers financial freedom. You go to the school that offers the most development opportunity.

You must live a very privileged life. $350k a year for three years is financial freedom.

 

[Cruiser]

Neither of those amounts offers financial freedom. You go to the school that offers the most development opportunity.

He will command a lot more than $350-550k as a top 4 receiver in the class

 

[JDCrimson]

You must live a very privileged life. $350k a year for three years is financial freedom.

No not really in the context of not having to pursue a career or support a family after college.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

You must live a very privileged life. $350k a year for three years is financial freedom.

Not if your agent and parents are digging into it...

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Not if your agent and parents are digging into it...

That much money realistically can't fund a middle-class lifestyle in perpetuity. But managed properly, receiving that much money that young could provide a financial springboard that affects decades.

But taxes, agent's fees, parents, childhood "friends," handlers, mothers of children, tricked-out muscle cars, etc., can reduce it to nothing faster than you can blink an eye.

Virtually no 18-year-old could manage a million-dollar windfall. The real problem is that few to none of these guys have parents who can manage it. Forget the kids, many of the parents have never even met anyone who could.

Even the guys who make it to the NFL for 5+ years often fritter away what could have been generational wealth. Bankruptcy among retired professional athletes isn't uncommon at all. Sadly, there are many more Alan Iversons than Julio Joneses.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

That much money realistically can't fund a middle-class lifestyle in perpetuity. But managed properly, receiving that much money that young could provide a financial springboard that affects decades.

But taxes, agent's fees, parents, childhood "friends," handlers, mothers of children, tricked-out muscle cars, etc., can reduce it to nothing faster than you can blink an eye.

Virtually no 18-year-old could manage a million-dollar windfall. The real problem is that few to none of these guys have parents who can manage it. Many of the parents have not even met anyone who could.

Even the guys who make it to the NFL for 5+ years often fritter it away. Bankruptcy among retired professional athletes isn't uncommon at all. Sadly, there are far more Alan Iversons than Julio Joneses.

TBF, it is life-changing money (very short-term) if you have nothing...

 

[bamaga]

Calvin Johnson enters the chat.

A bird in the hand beats two in the bush, especially if that hand has a blown knee or consecutive concussion issues.

There’s no easy answer

I understand making the Megatron analogy , but really that’s a unique case. I remember tuning in to GT games circa 2005 just watch Johnson, and for no other reason. The NFL was always going to find him. I don’t know if any other receiver was/is that physically gifted. Maybe Julio, but injuries.
I hope Sales has that type career, and of course in Tuscaloosa.

 

[bamaga]

That much money realistically can't fund a middle-class lifestyle in perpetuity. But managed properly, receiving that much money that young could provide a financial springboard that affects decades.

But taxes, agent's fees, parents, childhood "friends," handlers, mothers of children, tricked-out muscle cars, etc., can reduce it to nothing faster than you can blink an eye.

Virtually no 18-year-old could manage a million-dollar windfall. The real problem is that few to none of these guys have parents who can manage it. Many of the parents have not even met anyone who could.

Even the guys who make it to the NFL for 5+ years often fritter it away. Bankruptcy among retired professional athletes isn't uncommon at all. Sadly, there are far more Alan Iversons than Julio Joneses.

That’s where Nick shined brightest IMO. He always stressed personal and financial education to his players . And it shows. Sure , there are some that have faltered, we know them, and I won’t name them here, but then there are the Julio’s, the Devonta Smith’s that are set for life, a very comfortable l

 

[sanjosecrimson]

3* WR Kyren Caldwell announcing on 7/4 and we are in good position. Just watched highlight video since his name just came up recently and it is very good.

Kyren Caldwell - Columbia - Wide Receiver

Explore Kyren Caldwell's athlete profile at On3.com. Get news and insights into their playing career, statistics, and achievements in sports.

www.on3.com

247 has flip their pick to Maryland. apparently they are coming in with more $.
it may explain why Bama offer the Moody WR recently. he's a former teammate of 2025 commit WR Aubrey Walker.

Jalijah Rutledge, Moody , Wide Receiver

Also plays basketball. ----- FOOTBALL 2025: Completed his 15-game season with 60 receptions for 1,132 yards (18.9 YC) and 10 TDs offensively, and 32...

247sports.com

 

[Rollingtide]

Maybe it's just me but I like the tape for Rutledge as much or more than Caldwell and he's in 5A producing incredible numbers last year. It is sad though that we can't outbid Maryland. Maybe we just don't want him bad enough.

 

[BAMARICH]

I totally get the "give the process time" and the waiting game to see if lesser players "coached up" will be better than "greater players with lesser coaching". However, I think to reflect back on Saban's tenure to support what's going on is short sided. There were always "three star success stories" under CNS every year... whether guys like Mark Ingram or Wiliam Vlachos or a host of others. However, CNS typically had foundational players on the roster every year that were 4-5 stars and supplemented them with the three star successes. Time will tell, but the concerning thing is that this recruiting class seems to be flipping that philosophy and is mirroring what he did at UW. IF the coaching quality parallels that of Cignetti and IU, then we may be just fine. If not, we're going to be looking for another coach soon.

 

[AlexanderFan]

I totally get the "give the process time" and the waiting game to see if lesser players "coached up" will be better than "greater players with lesser coaching". However, I think to reflect back on Saban's tenure to support what's going on is short sided. There were always "three star success stories" under CNS every year... whether guys like Mark Ingram or Wiliam Vlachos or a host of others. However, CNS typically had foundational players on the roster every year that were 4-5 stars and supplemented them with the three star successes. Time will tell, but the concerning thing is that this recruiting class seems to be flipping that philosophy and is mirroring what he did at UW. IF the coaching quality parallels that of Cignetti and IU, then we may be just fine. If not, we're going to be looking for another coach soon.

Alabama is simply not in a position to afford to keep three consecutive top five recruiting classes on campus.

Call me crazy, but if DeBoer and company could afford to sign every prospect they wanted, I’m pretty sure they would.

Also, as predicted, the receiver committed to Maryland.

 

[BAMARICH]

Alabama is simply not in a position to afford to keep three consecutive top five recruiting classes on campus.

Call me crazy, but if DeBoer and company could afford to sign every prospect they wanted, I’m pretty sure they would.

Also, as predicted, the receiver committed to Maryland.

Is it your contention that Alabama has far lower NIL $ than other top programs? Are we signing kids to multiple year contracts? Are we shifting to more transfer portal players rather than HS players? I ask the first because multiple sources report that it's not about the $. In the past under CKD, I've looked past the obvious and said "there's something 'revolutionary' that he's doing here' only to realize that things were as bad as they appeared to be. It appears to me we're making some philosophical changes.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

I totally get the "give the process time" and the waiting game to see if lesser players "coached up" will be better than "greater players with lesser coaching". However, I think to reflect back on Saban's tenure to support what's going on is short sided. There were always "three star success stories" under CNS every year... whether guys like Mark Ingram or Wiliam Vlachos or a host of others. However, CNS typically had foundational players on the roster every year that were 4-5 stars and supplemented them with the three star successes. Time will tell, but the concerning thing is that this recruiting class seems to be flipping that philosophy and is mirroring what he did at UW. IF the coaching quality parallels that of Cignetti and IU, then we may be just fine. If not, we're going to be looking for another coach soon.

I wouldn't worry too much about this class. All it takes is a good look at the 2028 class to see that this is going to be a one off. We have a price we think these guys are worth, but if the price exceeds that, we are backing off because we have to put most of that money towards retention. Keelon Russell is a good example. I don't know what he's making now, but I do know we're getting him at a discount. Just for giggles, let's say he's making $750k this season, and then he wins the job and has a breakout season. At that point, you're looking at having to pay him $2-$3 million at least. The same goes for a lot of guys because we have a young team. The staff believes they knocked the last two classes out of the park, so we're gonna need millions to retain all of those guys. Bama is not broke. We are probably top 10 when it comes to NIL opportunities, but we're also one of the few staffs being practical about it. NIL Go has to approve all these deals, and a lot of these schools (cough, cough LSU) are throwing money at these players knowing full well these deals aren't going to get approved, and it's gonna blow up in their face at some point. All these are verbal right now, and don't get put in writing until November. Don't be surprised if these schools that promised big money have some decommitments when the number on the paper isn't as high as what was promised.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

One more thing to note about this recruiting class is that the prices of some of these guys are being needlessly driven up by certain schools. I don't remember who reported it, it may have been Andrew Bone, but anyways there was a report last week that Colorado in particular (and other schools as well) are contacting recruits were not even in contention with and throwing offers 2-3 times higher than anything others schools had offered, so then the agents of those players are contacting the schools they were already speaking with and saying "Colorado has offered x amount, so this is the new price or I'm going there". So then some schools are willing to match it, and others have to back up. This has happened to Alabama in at least once instance this cycle, likely more than that. Things are getting out of control.

 

[AlexanderFan]

Is it your contention that Alabama has far lower NIL $ than other top programs? Are we signing kids to multiple year contracts? Are we shifting to more transfer portal players rather than HS players? I ask the first because multiple sources report that it's not about the $. In the past under CKD, I've looked past the obvious and said "there's something 'revolutionary' that he's doing here' only to realize that things were as bad as they appeared to be. It appears to me we're making some philosophical changes.

It’s obvious reality. Bama lost two three guys recently they wanted: the kid from Mississippi, the kid from Tennessee, and this last receiver. What is so difficult to understand that if Alabama wanted to keep those guys they would’ve just matched/beaten the NIL offer? In all three instances Alabama had the commitment/ was predicted to secure the recruit, but a an improved NIL offer stole the player away.

If Alabama had all this NIL money yall swear they do, why would they let a recruit get away?

 

[CrimsonTitles]

It’s obvious reality. Bama lost two three guys recently they wanted: the kid from Mississippi, the kid from Tennessee, and this last receiver. What is so difficult to understand that if Alabama wanted to keep those guys they would’ve just matched/beaten the NIL offer? In all three instances Alabama had the commitment/ was predicted to secure the recruit, but a an improved NIL offer stole the player away.

If Alabama had all this NIL money yall swear they do, why would they let a recruit get away?

Because some of these guys are asking for more than players on our current roster are making. The staff isn't going to do that, because it creates internal issues. It's easy to say we should just pay the money, go look at what happened to Ole Miss after Kiffin leaked their NIL numbers. They had players revolting, and several entered the portal. That's exactly what we're trying to avoid.