On3 Roundtable: Picking Alabama true freshmen that will make an impact for Crimson Tide

There’s no question that Alabama took care of business this offseason in recruiting, bringing in the No. 1 2023 recruiting class in the nation this offseason according to On3’s Industry Recruiting Rankings.

But how many of those talented freshmen that have newly signed will we see this season on the field for the Crimson Tide? Bama Insider‘s Andrew Bone spoke with Josh Newberg on On3’s Roundtable to discuss which members of the 2023 class could make an impact as early as this season.

“Well Josh I think there’s three guys that jump off right off the top of my head that are gonna make an impact as freshman and two of them are from the state of Georgia,” Bone said. “Caleb Downs, the number one safety in the country, Justice Haynes, the number two running back signed by Alabama in the country, and then Kadyn Proctor, the number one offensive lineman out of Iowa who they flipped from the Iowa Hawkeyes around the early signing period. So those are the three guys that I feel like are going to make an early impact in Tuscaloosa.”

Bone’s trio represents three of Alabama’s top six rated recruits of this class, each ranking one or two at their respective positions coming out of high school. But none are ranked as highly as Downs, a 5-foot-11.5, 190-pound safety that is already drawing some lofty comparisons during his short time in Tuscaloosa.

“Let’s start with Caleb Downs, I mean this is probably one of the most physically ready safeties that we’ve seen in the last 10 years coming into Alabama,” Bone said. “I mean unbelievable guy, he’s a guy that a lot of people compare to Minkah Fitzpatrick.”

Starting safeties Jordan Battle and DeMarcco Hellams and nickel Brian Branch were all selected in this year’s NFL Draft, leaving some potential room in the roster for Downs to shine.

The Crimson Tide running back room on the other hand is a little bit more crowded, but one that Bone thinks Haynes could still thrive in following his three-touchdown performance in Alabama’s spring game.

“Now Justice Haynes is coming into a pretty experienced backfield,” Bone said. “You’ve got Jam Miller, you’ve got Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams, but we saw him really compete during that spring game. You see all the highlights of him working out on social media, but he has come in and done a remarkable job throughout the entire spring.”

If Haynes does get some playing time this season, he could be running behind Kadyn Proctor. Proctor is a mammoth of a freshman, standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing 318 pounds, and could potentially solve some of the Crimson Tide’s struggles on the offensive line.

“And then Kadyn Proctor, I mean physically unbelievable and I think he’s got a chance to make a big impact as a true freshman somewhere on the offensive front and certainly a guy that we can see making an impact as a true freshman,” Bone said.

Alabama excels in developing their young talent, but it will definitely be interesting to see which freshman get fast-tracked this year and make a name for themselves early in their career this upcoming season.