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Alabama bolsters 2025 recruiting class with elite LB, top 100 prospect
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Alabama is still adjusting to life without Nick Saban, but Kalen DeBoer and his coaching staff are intent on keeping the recruiting pipeline intact.
In his first year as head coach in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer is putting together a group that is in the mix to be the top overall recruiting class in the country. The latest piece to the group came Wednesday afternoon with a commitment from linebacker Dawson Merritt.
Merritt is rated as a 4-star LB out of Kansas and eventually selected the Crimson Tide over Nebraska:
BREAKING: Four-Star LB Dawson Merritt has Committed to Alabama, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’3 220 LB from Overland Park, KS chose the Crimson Tide over Nebraska
One of the Top LBs in the ‘25 Class
“God’s plan! LANK”https://t.co/vum4GsSf2q pic.twitter.com/A2l90E3WGO
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 26, 2024
Merritt is listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds out of Blue Valley High School in Stilwell, Kansas. The 247 Sports Composite rates the LB as one of the best players from the state and the 11th LB in the nation for the 2025 recruiting. Merritt is also a top-100 player, checking in at 92nd overall for the cycle.
Impact for Alabama
The addition of Merritt gives Alabama 6 players ranked inside the top 100 recruits nationally for the cycle. Merritt is the 4th of those players on the defensive side of the ball, joining 5-star LB Darrell Johnson (No. 26 overall prospect), 4-star safety Derick Smith (No. 52) and 4-star CB Chuck McDonald (No. 76).
Alabama is now up to 19 hard commitments for the cycle, a group that is ranked as the No. 2 recruiting class in the country per the 247 Sports Team Composite. The only program currently ranked ahead of the Crimson Tide is Ohio State with the Buckeyes leading the country in total points (297.68) and average score for prospects commitment (94.18).
For now, DeBoer’s program holds the top recruiting class in the SEC, but that will be a tough spot to hold onto with Georgia and LSU already holding a pair of 5-star commitments. The Crimson Tide only have a single 5-star so far, and the average score of 93.13 for Alabama trails LSU (93.71) and Georgia (93.28)
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
