For the first time in an edition of TideBits, the season is days away instead of weeks.
2023 recruiting is continuing to heat up, and with that, the first official visit weekend of the Tide Illustrated era is set to kick off on Friday night.
It won't be your typical official visit weekend, though. With Alabama holding commitments from 21 recruits going into the month of September, Nick Saban and the rest of his staff are going to be rather selective moving forward.
With that being the case, there will be just one official visitor this weekend and it is a big one- Longview (Tex.) Rivals100 WR Jalen Hale.
Going into the visit this weekend, Alabama is one of three top contenders (Texas, Texas A&M) and gets the first shot at *officially* hosting him.
The state of Texas, particularly those who enjoy the color orange, have been considering Hale a Texas lean for quite some time now. Many are even surprised that he has not committed there already.
From talking to people close to the recruitment of Hale, as well as those tied into the state of Texas, Hale is not a slam-dunk to anywhere at this time, including Texas.
Yes, the connection between he and Arch Manning is strong. There is also a connection between he and Texas A&M QB Haynes King, as the two were teammates at Longview.
Still, though, the University of Alabama has been able to remain in the mix, and now the time has come for them to show why Bama is home. Hale will not be on commitment watch while he is in Tuscaloosa. The coaching staff, led by primary recruiter Holmon Wiggins, will have a much better feel for where the Crimson Tide stand on Sunday night than they do currently.
From there, the next steps will be telling. Does the heat get turned up on four-star Tenn. WR Demitrius Bell? Do they extend new offers at the position?
It seems unlikely, currently, that it will get to the point of new offers. Hale would be a huge get for Wiggins and Alabama, pulling an elite talent from out-of-state as they have time and time again in talented states such as Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and even Missouri thus far in the 2023 class.
Speaking of the state of Florida, five-star DE Keon Keeley is going to be a busy man the next several weeks.
Keeley has had his official visit locked in with the University of Alabama for a little while now, and that trip will take place the weekend of the Texas A&M game.
He also recently locked in an official visit with Florida, which will take place next weekend. This weekend, Keeley will be at Ohio State, taking in the sights and scenes as the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame.
While I am not willing to go as far as saying these are just free trips rather than real threats to Alabama, after talking with sources around his recruitment and around each of the three programs, Alabama remains in a comfortable spot going into the next two weekends.
Ohio State's the more stable of the two programs, but from what TI has been told it is Florida and first-year HC Billy Napier that are following the Tide closely.
Of the three contenders, Alabama has to feel good knowing that they have the last currently scheduled visit with Keeley.
Lastly, here's a look at who Tide Illustrated has confirmed will be at the Utah State this weekend-
-COMMITS-
OL Wilkin Formby
DE Hunter Osborne
DE Yhonzae Pierre
LB Justin Jefferson
TE Ty Lockwood
OL Ryqueze McElderry
CB Jaylen Mbakwe (2024)
TE Martavious Collins (2024)
Four-star La. CB Ju'Juan Johnson
In the coming weeks, you'll continue to see us on the road. We have a goal here of seeing at least 80% of the commits for the 2023 and 2024 cycles in-person, and based on our current travel schedule, we are set to hit that goal.
2023 recruiting is continuing to heat up, and with that, the first official visit weekend of the Tide Illustrated era is set to kick off on Friday night.
It won't be your typical official visit weekend, though. With Alabama holding commitments from 21 recruits going into the month of September, Nick Saban and the rest of his staff are going to be rather selective moving forward.
With that being the case, there will be just one official visitor this weekend and it is a big one- Longview (Tex.) Rivals100 WR Jalen Hale.
Going into the visit this weekend, Alabama is one of three top contenders (Texas, Texas A&M) and gets the first shot at *officially* hosting him.
The state of Texas, particularly those who enjoy the color orange, have been considering Hale a Texas lean for quite some time now. Many are even surprised that he has not committed there already.
From talking to people close to the recruitment of Hale, as well as those tied into the state of Texas, Hale is not a slam-dunk to anywhere at this time, including Texas.
Yes, the connection between he and Arch Manning is strong. There is also a connection between he and Texas A&M QB Haynes King, as the two were teammates at Longview.
Still, though, the University of Alabama has been able to remain in the mix, and now the time has come for them to show why Bama is home. Hale will not be on commitment watch while he is in Tuscaloosa. The coaching staff, led by primary recruiter Holmon Wiggins, will have a much better feel for where the Crimson Tide stand on Sunday night than they do currently.
From there, the next steps will be telling. Does the heat get turned up on four-star Tenn. WR Demitrius Bell? Do they extend new offers at the position?
It seems unlikely, currently, that it will get to the point of new offers. Hale would be a huge get for Wiggins and Alabama, pulling an elite talent from out-of-state as they have time and time again in talented states such as Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and even Missouri thus far in the 2023 class.
Speaking of the state of Florida, five-star DE Keon Keeley is going to be a busy man the next several weeks.
Keeley has had his official visit locked in with the University of Alabama for a little while now, and that trip will take place the weekend of the Texas A&M game.
He also recently locked in an official visit with Florida, which will take place next weekend. This weekend, Keeley will be at Ohio State, taking in the sights and scenes as the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame.
While I am not willing to go as far as saying these are just free trips rather than real threats to Alabama, after talking with sources around his recruitment and around each of the three programs, Alabama remains in a comfortable spot going into the next two weekends.
Ohio State's the more stable of the two programs, but from what TI has been told it is Florida and first-year HC Billy Napier that are following the Tide closely.
Of the three contenders, Alabama has to feel good knowing that they have the last currently scheduled visit with Keeley.
Lastly, here's a look at who Tide Illustrated has confirmed will be at the Utah State this weekend-
-COMMITS-
OL Wilkin Formby
DE Hunter Osborne
DE Yhonzae Pierre
LB Justin Jefferson
TE Ty Lockwood
OL Ryqueze McElderry
CB Jaylen Mbakwe (2024)
TE Martavious Collins (2024)
Four-star La. CB Ju'Juan Johnson
In the coming weeks, you'll continue to see us on the road. We have a goal here of seeing at least 80% of the commits for the 2023 and 2024 cycles in-person, and based on our current travel schedule, we are set to hit that goal.
