“Not over until it’s over”: Alabama GM Courtney Morgan pushes for more as Kalen DeBoer’s squad builds strong recruiting class

Five-star safety Jireh Edwards announced his commitment to Alabama on Saturday. Before Edwards’ pledge, Kalen DeBoer’s program had already added wide receivers Cederian Morgan and Brian Williams, along with defensive lineman Nolan Wilson, this month.

Speaking to Rivals, Alabama general manager Courtney Morgan commented on the Crimson Tide’s recruiting surge.

“It’s really a culmination of a year of hard work. To us, it’s really not over until it’s over," Morgan said. "It’s good momentum but we also know we have to keep them until December.”

Expand Tweet

Alabama's 2026 class was once hit with multiple decommitments and four-star cornerback Zyan Gibson had long been the sole committed player in the room. However, the Crimson Tide now has 19 committed players and ranks No. 5 in the nation.

Besides coaches, current committed players are also actively recruiting fellow prospects to join them in Tuscaloosa. This week, Morgan shared a photo on Instagram featuring himself and four-star wide receiver Marquez Daniel with the caption:

“Bama fans get @quez4k___ to FLIP !!!!!!!!” 👀

Expand Tweet

Daniel has been committed to Florida since June, but he has received interest from Alabama in the past. The Crimson Tide didn’t make his top 6 list ahead of his commitment to the Gators, but Kalen DeBoer's recent recruiting successes might give him something to reconsider.

Xavier Griffin opens up about Kalen DeBoer's role in his Alabama commitment

When five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin announced his commitment to Alabama in June, many people attributed the recruiting success to Nick Saban and downplayed Kalen DeBoer’s role in the process.

However, Griffin clarified that he only spoke to Saban once as a freshman and noted that DeBoer deserves the credit for his decision.

"The haters just want to talk," he said. "They said Nick Saban can't save us, and then now they're just talking about (he's) saving us. So I mean, they're just going to talk."

Expand Tweet

Even Griffin's mother, Jay Clay, also debunked the rumor earlier this week. She said:

"Let me make this clear for (Griffin's) recruitment when it come to Alabama. Makes me mad to hear Kalen DeBoer can’t recruit because our coach and his staff did a great job!"

Besides DeBoer, Alabama outside linebacker coach Christian Robinson and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack also played big roles in Griffin's commitment.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

Know More

Edited by Krutik Jain