Kalen DeBoer's 4-star flip target drops loaded message as Mario Cristobal scrambles to keep him following Alabama visit

Kalen DeBoer's Alabama hosted one of the top running backs in the country over the weekend. Four-star RB Javiar Mallory seemed to like what he saw at Tuscaloosa, which has now prompted speculations that he might flip his committment in favor of the Crimson Tide.

Mallory has been committed to Mario Cristobal's Miami since March. But he is still exploring other college programs. On3's Chad Simmons reported on the latest development, quoting a meaningful statement from the RB after his Alabama visit.

"They definitely checked all the boxes," Mallory said, according to Simmons.

Last month, the West Boca Raton player received a visit from Alabama's running back coach Robert Gillespie and General Manager Courtney Morgan. It seems all this has made its mark on him, which should be a cause of concern for Cristobal.

Javian Mallory holds the No. 20 rank in his position in the 2026 class. He is the No. 45-ranked player in Florida and stands at No. 305 overall nationally.

He clocked in a productive sophomore season with 1,415 rushes and six touchdowns (according to MaxPreps). He had suffered a setback after sustaining an injury in his junior year due to a car crash. However, he is going strong and has bounced back this season.

Just a month after receiving medical clearance, Mallory would go on to show his grit and determination at the Under Armour camp, clinching the running back MVP title.

"It felt amazing, honestly," Mallory said as he took home the MVP award. "It's a blessing from God to be able to go through what I went through—to come out and look and feel better than I did before. I put a lot of my work into myself.

"I couldn't wait to get back. I was killing rehab day in and day out. I was waiting on the moment to show the world that I'm back to myself. I'm back to who I am—one of the top backs in the country."

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Kalen DeBoer and Alabama's recruiting spree keeps Miami on the edge

Presently, Kalen DeBoer's Class of 2026 has six commits to Alabama, including Jorden Edmonds, Zyan Gibson and Jamarion Matthews. On June 9, Miami Insider "CanesInSight" talked about Miami's view on their commit visiting Tuscaloosa.

"Mallory's committed but following this visit from Alabama he has set an official visit to Alabama, so that's something Miami is going to have to withstand (1:07)."

"I think this is a situation where you have a good player. And a program like Alabama wants you to know they got pretty good running backs in their mix . So, if they come down to West Boca to get a running back, you got to feel pretty good about the player you're getting. (1:29)"

Aside from the Hurricanes and the Crimson Tide, Mallory has received offers from Florida, Ohio State and Georgia, among other programs. But his recent recruitment activity casts doubt on his continued commitment to Mario Cristobal's program.