Alabama had only three commitments in the 2021 class through April. That changed in May, however, and the Crimson Tide have rolled into the summer.
Alabama coaches have added eight ESPN 300 recruits the past three months, most recently landing ESPN 300 linebacker Kendrick Blackshire on Tuesday.
Blackshire, No. 4 in ESPN’s 2021 positional rankings at inside linebacker, gives the staff 10 total ESPN 300 commitments and is part of a big push by the Tide staff to move up in the class rankings.
As the No. 178-ranked prospect overall, Blackshire is a 6-foot-1, 250-pound linebacker out of Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas. He chose the Crimson Tide over Baylor, Illinois, LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Before Blackshire’s commitment, Alabama had the No. 13-ranked class overall. The program has been steadily climbing with each commitment. In the initial class rankings in May, the team ranked outside the top 25, and it didn’t move into the top 25 until May 22, as the No. 23 class overall.
Since May 22, the Crimson Tide have moved from 23 to 18 to 13, with the potential to continue rising.
A big part of their rise was landing five-star offensive tackle J.C. Latham, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound lineman out of IMG Academy, on June 12, and five-star defensive end Dallas Turner out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 1.
With Blackshire, Alabama has three ESPN 300 linebackers committed, with Deontae Lawson and Ian Jackson, Turner at defensive end and two ESPN 300 safeties in Kaine Williams and Kadarius Calloway, as the defense is getting reloaded.
The staff has also addressed a need at wide receiver, landing ESPN 300 receivers Jacorey Brooks, Agiye Hall and Christian Leary, all ranked in the top 75 of the ESPN 300.
With only 12 commitments in the class, Alabama has plenty of room to continue adding top-ranked prospects and rising up the rankings.
