Kalen DeBoer’s first season as the head coach at Alabama after Nick Saban announced his retirement in January has already been a tumultuous one and he hasn’t even played a game. DeBoer tabbed Ryan Grubb to be his first offensive coordinator with the Crimson Tide, but Grubb decided to leave the program to take the same role with the Seattle Seahawks. Now, DeBoer has hired former Washington tight ends coach Nick Sheridan, a former Michigan quarterback who was previously an offensive coordinator at Indiana, to fill that role.
DeBoer’s former wide receivers coach at Washington JaMarcus Shepard will fill the same role at Alabama and will also be a co-offensive coordinator with Sheridan. How will Sheridan and Shepard be received on the Michigan football recruiting trail and how has DeBoer set out to tackle his first full Alabama recruiting class in 2025? If you want to see the latest Alabama recruiting and coaching news, be sure to see what the proven team of insiders are saying at Bama247, the 247Sports affiliate that covers Alabama.
The team of insiders at Bama247 are providing on-the-ground updates on every development in the football coaching search, including insights from Matt Zenitz, John Talty and Mike Rodak, who have more than 25 years of experience covering the Crimson Tide. The trio has deep-rooted ties inside and around the Alabama community, and Talty wrote The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban, a Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestseller.
The team at Bama247 already has extensive coverage of Alabama’s recruiting efforts under Kalen DeBoer, including a list of 2025 recruits that the staff has targeted with limited time before the Dead Period. Head to Bama247 now to see them all. Check out the site’s groundbreaking message board for the latest Alabama football recruiting news.
Kalen DeBoer Alabama recruiting updates
One player from the 2025 class that DeBoer’s staff is interested in is Folsom (Calif.) defensive lineman Josiah Sharma. A three-star prospect, Sharma was once committed to Washington but ultimately decided to open his recruitment back up late last month and then was offered by DeBoer and Alabama the next day.
However, he’s also added offers from Ole Miss, Texas and Oregon in the weeks since his decommitment and his recruitment looks pretty wide open once again. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound interior defender is currently ranked as the No. 66 prospect in California in the Class of 2025 but his stock is clearly on the rise with the offers he’s added. He visited Alabama the first weekend of February and is expected to visit Texas after the dead period.Sharma spoke to Bama247 about his trip to Tuscaloosa, which you can read about here.
Another player that DeBoer’s staff is interested in for 2025 is Philadelphia St. Joseph’s Top247 four-star linebacker Anthony Sacca. He has been in contact with Alabama since DeBoer was hired, and assistant coach Colin Hitschler took a visit to see him last month. Sacca took his first visit to Alabama earlier this month after visiting Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State in the spring and winter, among others. The four-star linebacker has 25 offers, including Florida State and Georgia. He is the No. 25 linebacker in his class and the No. 6 player in the state of Pennsylvania. He had plenty to say about his visit to Tuscaloosa, so be sure to check out Bama247 for more on his plans.
DeBoer is also targeting linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who is the No. 1 prospect in Washington. Rainey-Sale is currently ranked as a four-star prospect and already has a great relationship with DeBoer and his staff. He was committed to Washington but he opened up his recruitment after DeBoer left for Alabama, who quickly offered the 220-pound linebacker.
Rainey-Sale has a plethora of offers after he racked up 65 total tackles, including 52 solo, and recorded six tackles for loss in his junior season. He has offers from Colorado, Florida State, Oregon, Miami, Penn State, Washington, and more. He’s scheduled to be on campus with DeBoer in Tuscaloosa for an unofficial visit on March 8. The Crimson Tide only have two commitments for 2025 and currently rank 30th in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings for 2025. Bama247 learned more about his decision and his updated recruiting timeline, which you can see here.
DeBoer’s staff is also interested in is Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei Top247 four-star receiver Marcus Harris. A top 200 overall prospect in the Class of 2025, Harris is a product of a high-school football powerhouse in Southern California. Mater Dei is a six-time national champion who have also won the CIF championship on 13 occasions.
Harris currently touts 30 offers after racking up 68 receptions for 1,288 yards and 18 touchdowns over his last two seasons playing for the Monarchs. The No. 20 wide receiver in his class is just under 6-foot and weighs in at 180 pounds and runs a sub-4.5 in the 40-yard-dash. He attended Alabama junior day earlier this month and added an Alabama offer the very next day. Now, hear what he has to say about Alabama coming out of his recent visit.
Another player that DeBoer’s staff is interested in for 2025 is Kansas Top247 four-star linebacker Dawson Merritt. Currently ranked as the No. 129 overall prospect in the Class of 2025 and the No. 17 linebacker, Merritt already boasts well over 20 scholarship offers with Alabama extending an offer earlier this month to join the likes of Michigan, Florida State and Oklahoma.
Merritt is the son of Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt and he’s coming off an impressive season at Blue Valley in Stilwell, KS. Merritt recently discussed receiving his Alabama offer during the dead period with Bama247’s Brett Greenberg and laid out his plans for visiting Tuscaloosa later this spring. Merritt also stated that he plans to commit in August or September, so what are DeBoer’s chances of landing his services for Alabama? Stay updated with Bama247 to find out.
There’s also a high-profile recruit from Georgia who has narrowed his list down to the top four, which includes Alabama and an elite cornerback who could make a big impact.
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Alabama is also going after the No. 1 player in Kansas for the 2025 cycle, who already has a strong relationship with the staff. See what his interest level is at Bama247.
Who are the top players for 2025 that Alabama’s new coaching staff is targeting right now and which players have they done a good job with? Go to Bama247 to see all the latest Alabama recruiting news, all from a team of reporters with decades of experience covering the Crimson Tide, and find out.
