Alabama, Michigan surge in June: What I'm hearing on the recruiting trail

New York Times

02-07-2025

June official visits have come to a close, and recruiting departments can finally take a breather with the busiest month on the calendar finally over.
So what's going on across the recruiting landscape as prospects continue to issue commitments?
Here's what I'm following.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
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1. OK, Alabama. The Crimson Tide started June with five commitments. They are now up to 16 in a class that ranks No. 7 nationally with an average player rating of 92.01. The last week has been especially impressive, with commitments from five-star edge Xavier Griffin from Georgia, in-state top-50 running back Ezavier Crowell and top-100 tight end Mack Sutter from Illinois. Following a less-than-ideal first season on the field, coach Kalen DeBoer is proving that he can get things done on the recruiting trail.
'I feel good about the people we have committed and the people we've still got that are going to make their decision to come to Alabama,' said three-star linebacker Zay Hall, a Tuscaloosa, Ala., native who committed on June 27. 'I feel like this is a great class, great people and great athletes for sure. But we ain't done getting commits. I feel like it'll probably be one of the greatest classes (in the country).
'I feel like (DeBoer) is a great recruiter. He breaks down things about football, of course, but (also) things outside of football that made parents feel good about their child being around him. … For his first time recruiting down here, he's impressed a lot of people. He's shocked a lot of people. He's done an amazing job.'
roll tide🐘 pic.twitter.com/xz94a58VQG
— Ezavier Crowell (@EzavierCrowell) June 27, 2025
2. Count Cody Flournoy, the coach at Jackson (Ala.) High, among those impressed with DeBoer's in-state recruiting efforts. Flournoy coaches Crowell, who is ranked No. 33 overall and the No. 2 running back in the class. Crowell chose the Crimson Tide over Auburn, Georgia and Texas, with the Bulldogs and Longhorns emerging as big players in his recruitment.
Flournoy is the first to admit that he has historically been an Auburn fan. But he sang DeBoer's praises for keeping Crowell home and how the Crimson Tide have continued to load up on top prospects in the post-Nick Saban era.
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'They're doing something right,' Flournoy said. 'What a big get (landing Crowell). For an in-state school, it's one of those (situations where) if you let this guy get out of state, whether it's Auburn or Bama, that sends up a lot of red flags, so kudos to them for getting it done. … For DeBoer to lock it down, I think it just means a lot to get your in-state guys.
'That just makes statements.'
This comes after DeBoer signed only two in-state products, including none ranked in the top 10, in the 2025 cycle.
3. It's not just in the Southeast where DeBoer has excelled. The Crimson Tide have picked up four commits from the Midwest, too, landing prospects from Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio and Illinois. Sutter, ranked No. 80 nationally, represents a big victory for DeBoer in Big Ten country, with Alabama beating out Ohio State, Illinois and Ole Miss for his pledge.
'I think it says a lot,' said Brett Cazalet, Sutter's coach at Dunlap (Ill.) High School. 'Obviously, Alabama did a great job recruiting, but I think it says a lot about Mack that there was a lot of pressure to kind of stay in the Big Ten (to go to a) Midwest school, and he knew what he was looking for. The school that provided him those opportunities was Alabama.
'I can't imagine stepping into (Saban's) shoes, but coach DeBoer, the one thing that's very impressive to everyone is that he's won at all levels. He's not a guy that just kind of started at the high Division I level and worked up that way. He's done it at all levels and I think with high school coaches, that's an impressive thing. That's very unique in that world today.'
Cazalet said co-offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan made the trip to Illinois and offered Sutter on the spot after watching him work out last spring. Cazalet then drove Sutter to that epic Alabama-Georgia game in the fall, and Sutter visited the Crimson Tide again for the Iron Bowl. He took an official visit to Tuscaloosa last month, which provided even more clarity that Alabama was the right spot.
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Cazalet credited Alabama tight ends coach Bryan Ellis for his approach to recruiting Sutter.
'Coach Ellis, I think as you see his personality, he's not an overly — he's not on top of you all the time,' Cazalet said. 'He's more to the point: 'We want you,' stay in contact, build the relationship but not bothering Mack all the time, and I think Mack really appreciated that.'
4. Switching gears to Alabama's rival, Auburn and Hugh Freeze got their quarterback last week when four-star Pennsylvania native Peyton Falzone flipped to the Tigers from Penn State. Falzone is ranked No. 246 overall and the No. 18 quarterback in the cycle, giving the Tigers a face to build the class around as Freeze looks to get moving with this group. Auburn has just six commits in the Class of 2026.
Falzone said he first started thinking about making the switch when Auburn offered him about a month ago, after he originally committed to Penn State in April. The Tigers' offensive scheme — which suits his game well as a dual-threat quarterback — was a major selling point. As a junior, Falzone threw for 2,135 yards and 23 touchdowns with four picks while also rushing for 697 yards and eight scores.
Breaking the news to Penn State coach James Franklin was tough, Falzone said, especially as an in-state prospect. But sharing his good news with Freeze and the staff has him fired up for what's to come. He has already started recruiting other top talent to join him.
'The past week was definitely a stressful one,' Falzone said, 'and I spent a lot of time sitting down with my family. Auburn just really outweighed the competition and how (Freeze) leads the team with the faith and family base is huge.'
5. Moving over to the Big Ten, how about the run Michigan is on? The Wolverines picked up 11 commits in June, none more impressive than four-star edge Carter Meadows out of Washington, D.C. Meadows is ranked No. 72 overall and the No. 9 edge and picked the Wolverines over South Carolina, Penn State and Ohio State. The Wolverines also added another four-star edge when Julian Walker, out of South Carolina, committed to the Wolverines on Tuesday over South Carolina and North Carolina. Walker's dad, Jamil, works on the strength and conditioning staff at South Carolina.
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Michigan's class is ranked No. 9 nationally and includes 12 blue-chippers among the 19 commitments — the average player rating of 91.29 ranks ninth.
6. One of the most fascinating parts about Michigan's class is that it doesn't include any in-state prospects. That will surely change between now and December (and it needs to if Moore wants to maintain relationships with high school coaches), but it's clear Moore intends to lean into Michigan's brand and recruit nationally.
The Wolverines currently have three commits from Texas, two from Washington, D.C., Illinois and Virginia and one from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and South Carolina. Notre Dame has commits from three of the top 10 prospects in Michigan. The state's top player, four-star athlete CJ Sadler, who most recently visited Colorado and North Carolina, is set to issue a commitment Aug. 15.
7. USC still has the nation's top-ranked class. The Trojans have 30 commitments, including 20 blue-chippers and nine prospects in the top 100. Georgia comes in at No. 2 with 26 commits and 19 blue-chippers, including five top-75 prospects. The Bulldogs just made quite the splash in landing four-star defensive linemen James Johnson out of Miami and Pierre Dean out of North Carolina. LSU has the nation's highest average player rating with a 94.24 mark behind 11 commits.
8. Another team on the rise: Tennessee. The Vols on Tuesday picked up commitments from three-star cornerback Jamyan Theodore from Chattanooga, Tenn., and a pair of four-star teammates out of Jackson (Miss.) Academy in linebacker TJ White and defensive lineman Dereon Albert. Albert chose the Vols over North Carolina, while White picked Josh Heupel and his staff over Auburn, Florida State and Mississippi State. Tennessee's class is ranked 12th and includes seven blue-chippers and four top-200 prospects among its 16 commits. The Vols have seemingly also done a nice job maintaining their relationship with five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, the nation's No. 6 prospect.
9. If you're looking for interesting prospects to follow, keep your eyes on Jaron and Kennan Pula, twin brothers who both play wide receiver at Lone Peak (Utah) High. The twins originally committed to UCLA in September, but both decommitted last week, fresh off a visit to Utah. Might the Utes be able to keep them home?
Thank you @Utah_Football for an awesome weekend!! pic.twitter.com/U8HkBwkFTt
— Jaron.pula (@jaron_pula) June 23, 2025
10. Four-star quarterback Landon Duckworth committed to South Carolina in August 2023 but backed off that pledge last summer. Now, a year later, Duckworth could rejoin the Gamecocks' class.
Duckworth, the only uncommitted top-20 QB in the 2026 cycle, is down to two schools: Auburn (which already has a quarterback in its class) and South Carolina. Flournoy, his coach at Jackson (Ala.) High, believes the Gamecocks could be the frontrunners and that Duckworth's skill set would fit the offense nicely, considering his similarities to Heisman Trophy hopeful LaNorris Sellers. A dual-threat, Duckworth threw for 3,400-plus yards and rushed for nearly 650 as a high school junior a season ago.
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'One of the things that South Carolina loves about Landon is, 'Hey, he can make a play when plays break down' and if you watch college football, plays break down quite often,' Flournoy said. 'I think at South Carolina, they have a lot of success with LaNorris Sellers. … Landon fits that mold.'
(Photo of Sherrone Moore: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)