Alabama hosting official visitors, flip targets and elite underclassmen

Alabama is gearing up for another critical weekend of recruits as we delve deeper into the season and the Early Signing Period beginning on December 4.

The Crimson Tide are currently sitting with the No. 2-ranked recruiting class in the Rivals Team Rankings, and are among to add a few more pieces to round out this star-studded 2025 class, and also continue to build out the foundation of the 2026 group.

Here’s more on the big weekend unfolding in Tuscaloosa for the Missouri game:

Anquon Fegans, the No. 6-ranked SAF in the Rivals250 out of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson High, declared for Auburn over LSU and Georgia in July as the Tigers’ run shifted into a different gear and cracked the top five in the Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings. No team has gotten Fegans on campus more than Auburn, which has been a theme into his senior season, too.

Alabama is not far behind, though, and is keen on adding another blue-chip safety to this 2025 class. The door is still cracked open in this recruitment in Fegans’ recruitment and both the Tide and UCF are set to host the four-star Auburn verbal over the next month beginning with this return to Tuscaloosa this weekend.

Also making the trip to Alabama is three-star CB Auburn commit Donovan Starr, who has been well-traveled this fall. The No. 53-ranked cornerback in the country out of Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood High School, Starr has been on campus at Vanderbilt and Illinois and is set to officially visit both Alabama and Vanderbilt over the next three weeks. The door has also been left open in this one with big visits on tap.

Alabama offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic is set for a haul of blue-chippers up front set to be on campus. Included in that group are current Crimson Tide commitments four-star OG Micah DeBose and four-star OT Mal Waldrep.

DeBose has not entirely shut his recruitment down, but the arrow is certainly trending in that direction after Ohio State made a late push for the four-star offensive lineman with ties to the Cleveland area. DeBose is set to get back to Tuscaloosa for this game and there’s a sense that his commitment to the Crimson Tide is growing stronger as Signing Day nears.

Jackson Cantwell, the top-ranked player in the Rivals250 for the 2026 cycle out of Nixa (Mo.) is set to visit Tuscaloosa as well. Cantwell was at Alabama as recently as July and has been a regular visitor there along with Georgia, Nebraska and Missouri, who he’ll get a chance to see again inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Cantwell is one of a handful of elite juniors expected on campus along with four-star OT Ekene Ogboko out of Garner (S.C.) South Garner High. South Carolina, North Carolina State and Clemson have all had the top-100 tackle on campus this season ahead of Ogboko’s first trip up to the Capstone.

Luke Metz‘s recruitment has endured several wrinkles since becoming one of the first defensive recruits to commit to Kalen DeBoer and Kane Wommack after their arrival in Tuscaloosa. Metz, the No. 3-ranked LB in the Rivals250 out of Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek, was pursued heavily by the in-state Dawgs over the spring and into the summer before Metz locked in with the Tide ahead of his senior season.

Time hasn’t stopped Georgia and other programs from continuing to chip away at Metz’s commitment to the Crimson Tide, and the Dawgs aren’t alone. Tennessee, Oklahoma and Oregon are among the other teams that have stayed in pursuit of the top-100 prospect out of the Peach State, who has made a string of visits back to Tuscaloosa this fall.

Nassir McCoy, the No. 9-ranked SAF in the Rivals250 for next year’s cycle, is among the deep group of 2026s and 2027s expected at Alabama this weekend. Other notable visitors expected include …

McCoy has been a frequent visitor at Auburn and Georgia, with the latter being the team setting the tempo in the four-star’s recruitment early on. This is his first game-day visit up to Alabama this fall with the Tide pushing hard for a visit behind the scenes.

Zykie Helton, the top-rated center in the Rivals250 for 2026, is no stranger to the Capstone. The one-time Crimson Tide verbal commitment out of Carrollton (Ga.) is set to make his third visit back to campus this season for a game day. Both Georgia and South Carolina have hosted the four-star interior OL. No team has been more consistent in Helton’s recruitment thus far than Alabama.

Nolan Wilson has been enjoying a breakout junior season out of Picayune (Miss.) High School in Mississippi. Alabama DL coach Freddie Roach was the first to extend an offer in the direction of the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder earlier this fall, and Wilson is set for his second game-day visit to the Capstone. Since the Tide offered, Wilson has collected scholarship overtures from LSU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, USC and others. We view Alabama as the early team to beat in this recruitment — with a long road to go.

Another 2026 defensive lineman that has caught the Alabama staff’s eye is three-star Harvest (Ala.) Sparkman DE Jamarion Matthews. Matthews is having a breakout campaign as a junior and will be on campus in Tuscaloosa this weekend. Matthews has drawn in the eyes of not only the Crimson Tide, but Ole Miss and Auburn as well. Matthews will make his way to Oxford and the Plains in November.

Auburn, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and others have all hosted talented three-star Phenix City (Ala.) Central edge-defender Tristan Lyles for visits this season, and next up is Alabama. Lyles has been making noise rushing the passer for one of the state’s top high school football programs. As a junior, Lyles has turned in 44 tackles, 17 TFL and 7 sacks.

Four-star Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie High safety Xavier Lherisse is set to make it to Tuscaloosa this weekend for the first time. Auburn and Oregon have each gotten the blue chipper from Florida on campus this fall for game-day visits. Oklahoma, Clemson, and Penn State are two more teams engrained in Lherisse’s recruitment in the early going. The Tide will aim to make their presence felt in this recruitment over the weekend.