"When you come to make your decision, make sure it’s the right decision": Kalen DeBoer's five-star RB target for Alabama drops recruitment update

Five-star running back Ezavier Crowell first connected with Alabama shortly after Kalen DeBoer was hired in 2024. Since then, the Crimson Tide running backs coach Robert Gillespie has consistently pursued him and treated him as a major target. On Monday, the standout from Jackson High School (Alabama) shared a huge update regarding his commitment timeline.

"I Will No Longer Be Committing On December 31st," Crowell tweeted.

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Explaining the change, Crowell told Tide Sports:

“When you come to make your decision, make sure it’s the right decision, one that you don’t regret."

Besides Alabama, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound running back has Auburn, Ohio State, Florida State, Georgia and Texas in his top 6.

Crowell has been a dominant force on the field since his first snap at Jackson. In his sophomore season, he logged 168 carries for 1,964 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns, adding 258 receiving yards and two more scores.

In January, Crowell reclassified from the class of 2027 to 2026 and will now enter his senior season. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, he is ranked as the No. 2 running back in the 2026 cycle and the No. 30 overall player in the nation. He also boasts elite speed, with a personal best of 10.6 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

Alabama continues trending for Ezavier Crowell's commitment

Being an in-state prospect, Ezavier Crowell had several chances to visit Alabama, including attending the Crimson Tide's A-Day practice on April 12. After that visit, On3's Steve Wiltfong picked up a prediction for Crowell to choose Kalen DeBoer's program, giving the school a 87.5% chance in this race.

“The stuff, the talent, the quality, it’s all there. Of course, the program's different," Jackson coach Cody Flournoy told Tide Sports about. "That’s kind of one of the things. They’re recruiting the right guys, I’ll say that. They’re still pushing that mold that it’s Bama as usual.”

If Crowell ends with the Crimson Tide, he will be their first running back commit in the 2026 class. DeBoer and Co. have five committed players in the cycle, ranking No. 6 in the nation and No. 3 in the Southeastern Conference.

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.

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