Alabama making up ground in race for Five-Star Plus+ OT David Sanders
Upon trimming his list of top schools down to six, Charlotte Providence Day Five-Star Plus+ offensive tackle David Sanders has set a group of spring and official visits. Alabama is one of the programs getting at least two more cracks at impressing the No. 2 recruit in the nation.
The first of those two visits came over the weekend, as Sanders headlined another big weekend of recruiting in Tuscaloosa. Like many of the top targets for the Tide, the latest string of visits has been different, as many are getting their first in-person interactions with Kalen DeBoer and the new coaching staff.
While Alabama has long been in the mix for Sanders’ pledge, this past weekend was a reintroduction of sorts.
“I think the biggest thing for Alabama was just getting David Sanders on campus. This is a kid that visited Tuscaloosa three or four times with the previous staff,” Alabama insider Andrew Bone said on ‘The Inside Scoop’.
“We weren’t really sure if Alabama was going to be in the running for him once the new staff was in place, but Coach DeBoer and his staff were able to get inside Sanders’ top six and were able to secure a visit — a spring visit, plus, he’s already scheduled an official visit for June. So being able to get at least two visits out of Sanders is pretty significant for Alabama.”
Bama trying to keep pace with other top programs for Sanders
DeBoer has shown this month that Alabama recruiting hasn’t really lost a step, as he’s reeled in six commitments in March. Still, it’s a person-to-person game in the recruiting world, and prospects are looking for the best fit at the college level. DeBoer’s staff has had to prove that it’s capable of being at the same level that Nick Saban held for so long.
Alabama will continue to have to put in extra work on the trail — especially when it comes to top prospects like Sanders. Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio State are all in the running and are also receiving official visits down the road.
Returns from the weekend in Tuscaloosa look to be positive, but according to Bone, there’s still much to be done for the Tide to be considered a frontrunner in the race for the elite 6-foot-5.5, 255-pounder. Sanders is set to return to Bama for his official visit on June 18.
“Speaking to some sources over the weekend, it certainly seems like Alabama made up a lot of ground. He had a great trip, really hit it off with the new offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic,” Bone said. “Quickly developing some relationships there.
…Alabama, in my opinion, probably still has a little bit of ground to make up, just because of the relationship aspect. He’s known a lot of these coaches at Clemson, Georgia, South Carolina for a very long time … I think with David, he’s shown that his interest level in Alabama is more than just Nick Saban.”