Twenty seven verbal commitments led Sports Illustrated to name the Crimson Tide with the number one recruiting class among college football programs. The big news was flipping top-10 prospect Kadyn Proctor from his hometown Iowa Hawkeyes. Nick Saban’s program also attracted commitments from in-state defensive stars James Smith and Qua Russaw.
This is the second signing class since the NCAA lifted a ban on college athletes being compensated for the use of their names, images and likenesses. Coaches continue to sound alarms about a lack of regulations. But they also say NIL opportunities have become a regular part of the recruiting conversations with prospects. The early signing period for college football included the usual surprising last-minute flips by blue-chip recruits, pick-a-hat commitment ceremonies held at high schools across the country and Alabama signing the nation's top-rated class. Hanging over it all, though, was the impossible to quantify but hard to ignore influence of NIL money impacting players' decisions. This was second signing class since the NCAA lifted a ban on college athletes being able to earn money with NIL deals. There still there are no clearly defined, detailed and uniform rules regulating how third parties can pay athletes.