• Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff are heavily pursuing several highly-ranked recruits in the 2026 class.
• The Crimson Tide are focusing on key targets within Alabama, including linebacker Anthony Jones and wide receiver Cederian Morgan.
• Alabama is also looking to secure commitments from out-of-state prospects like quarterback Jared Curtis from Tennessee and cornerback Elbert Hill from Ohio.
Zyan Gibson may not be the most vocal Alabama football recruit. But he’s doing his share of recruiting.
The 2026 Alabama cornerback commit name-dropped five-star wide receiver Cederian Morgan as a target to join the Crimson Tide, while also sending social media messages at California athlete Brandon Arrington, Georgia tight end Heze Kent, Jackson, Alabama running back Ezavier Crowell, Mississippi wide receiver Tristen Keys and Tennessee quarterback Jared Curtis.
Will Alabama secure all these major 2026 targets? The Crimson Tide will try its best with Kalen DeBoer and the coaching staff traveling the country and visiting numerous prospects.
Where does the Crimson Tide stand? Here are names Alabama fans should know in the 2026 recruiting class.
Jared Curtis is the belle of the ball as far as 2026 quarterbacks. And Alabama is in the running as one of six finalists with Oregon, Ohio State, South Carolina, Auburn and Georgia, which he was previously committed to. The Crimson Tide already has a five-star waiting in the wings in Keelon Russell, but DeBoer, Nick Sheridan and the Crimson Tide are still in the fight for Curtis, visiting the Tennessee quarterback during the January contact period.
Alabama has heard this story before: A five-star Mississippi wide receiver that could headline the Crimson Tide’s recruiting class. Alabama fell short with Caleb Cunningham in 2025, but currently remains in the hunt with Tristen Keys in 2026, who has the Crimson Tide as one of his official visits along with Auburn, Tennessee, Miami, LSU and Texas A&M, according to multiple reports.
Can Alabama continue its California recruiting surge? Brandon Arrington seems like the Crimson Tide’s main target out west as a 6-foot-3, 180-pound athlete that plays both corner and wide receiver. Alabama put the full-court press on Arrington in the January contact period with DeBoer, Maurice Linguist, Courtney Morgan and JaMarcus Shephard each visiting him. The Crimson Tide is in Arrington’s top-12.
After securing two in-state commitments in the 2025 class, Alabama will be scrutinized for its in-state recruiting approach in 2026, starting with Anthony Jones, a five-star linebacker out of Mobile. Jones was recently in Tuscaloosa at the Crimson Tide’s Junior Day. Jones, along with Gibson and Cederian Morgan, seem to be at the center of Alabama’s in-state recruiting strategy in 2026. According to multiple reports, Alabama will get one of five official visits from Jones, who will also visit, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas and USC.
Cederian Morgan was a major target for Alabama during the January contact period with DeBoer, Sheridan, Shephard, Courtney Morgan, Robert Gillespie and Chris Kapilovic visiting the five-star receiver in Alexander City. The Crimson Tide is in Cederian Morgan’s top-10, who would be the latest in-state five-star wide receiver to choose Alabama after Ryan Williams in 2024.
• No. 20 nationally, No. 1 OH
Can Alabama steal a prospect from Ohio State’s backyard? The Crimson Tide did it once in 2025 with Cincinnati linebacker Justin Hill. And Alabama will try again with Elbert Hill, the number one cornerback in the 2026 class. Hill is a prospect Alabama wants badly. And it’s making an impression on the Ohio cornerback.
Alabama has made the cut for one of the top tight ends in the 2026 class. Kaiden Prothro, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound tight end, has the Crimson Tide in his top five along with Georgia, Auburn, Florida and Texas. Prothro would be the highest-rated tight end to commit to Alabama since O.J. Howard in 2013.
Alabama secured three-star defensive lineman London Simmons out of Hartfield Academy in Flowood, Mississippi, in the 2025 class. The Crimson Tide will return to the school to try and land five-star safety Bralan Womack, who has Alabama in his final four along with Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
Trenton Henderson’s relationship with Alabama has been fast and furious. The Pensacola defensive end got an offer from the Crimson Tide on Jan. 11. Later that month, he posted a photo of him with DeBoer, Courtney Morgan and defensive line coach Freddie Roach. Four days after the meeting, Henderson was in Tuscaloosa for the program’s Junior Day and told multiple recruiting websites he’s scheduled an Alabama official visit. Henderson is seemingly shooting up Alabama’s want list in 2026.
Jorden Edmonds reported an Alabama offer last March, and was reportedly at the Crimson Tide’s Junior Day. Standing at nearly 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, Edmonds could be the next big-bodied defensive back to join the team.
• No. 114 nationally, No. 4 OH
Another Hill-like move could be in play for Cincere Johnson in the 2026 class. The Cleveland linebacker was offered by Alabama at the beginning of January. DeBoer, Courtney Morgan, Linguist and new linebackers coach Chuck Morrell visited Johnson at Glenville High School before he attended Junior Day. Johnson sees opportunity at Alabama, one that puts the Crimson Tide in the running for his recruitment.
Kaiden Hall earned an Alabama offer before his junior season at Milton High School in Florida. Now the Crimson Tide is in his top-10 along with Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Georgia, Michigan, Texas A&M, LSU and Clemson, and he reportedly has a June official visit already scheduled with the Crimson Tide.
Prothro is not the only tight end with Alabama as a finalist. Georgia four-star tight end Heze Kent, a 6-foot-7 athlete, has the Crimson Tide in his top five with Florida, Florida State, Miami and Texas, and reportedly had an official visit scheduled with Alabama in June. DeBoer visited Kent in late January, and is a target to watch moving forward.
Khamari Brooks’ Alabama offer did not come until September. But he already views the Crimson Tide as a finalist, telling On3 he’s including Alabama in his top three along with Clemson and Georgia: the only three teams he’s focused on right now. Brooks was at Alabama’s Junior Day for his, reportedly, third visit to campus.
A major 2027 in-state prospect reclassified, and now has Alabama’s attention in 2026. Crowell is now the ninth-ranked prospect in the state, and has reportedly scheduled an official visit with the Crimson Tide along with Auburn, Texas and Georgia. View Crowell as a major target for Alabama’s in-state efforts along with Cederian Morgan and Jones.
Another four-star cornerback who has locked in an Alabama official visit is Tennessee native Caden Harris, who is reportedly also scheduled to visit Vanderbilt, Georgia and Tennessee. Harris, standing at 6-feet, 160 pounds, has held an Alabama offer since June.
While Alabama has a few offensive linemen they are pursuing closely, like Grant Wise out of Milton, Florida, or Bear McWhorter out of White, Georgia, Chris Booker is the most interesting of the current offensive line prospects. Booker, out of Atlanta, went to the Crimson Tide’s Junior Day and left with an offer, his biggest to date. While major offers should follow, Booker’s relationship with the Crimson Tide should be watched closely moving forward.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him atcgay@gannett.com or follow him@_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.…Read more by Colin Gay