Is another five-star prospect committing to Alabama football this weekend?
Alabama football might have two great weekends in a row on the recruiting trail.
Last week saw the Alabama Crimson Tide gain the commitments of three blue-chippers along the offensive line. Twin brothers James Brockermeyer and Tommy Brockermeyer from Fort Worth, Texas co-signed to play for the Tide over playing for their family’s team in the Texas Longhorns. Alabama landed five-star Terrence Ferguson from Fort Valley, Georgia two days later on Sunday.
Landing the Brockermeyer Twins’ joint commitment, as well as Ferguson’s catapulted Alabama from the No. 6 class in the country all the way up to No. 2. While they have some work to do to catch the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 1, they have to feel pretty good about their chances of landing yet another five-star prospect in defensive tackle Damon Payne from Belleville, Michigan.
Payne is the No. 1 player from Michigan, the No. 1 defensive tackle in his class and is the No. 15 overall player in this recruiting cycle. The 6-foot-3.5, 297-pound standout from Belleville High School boasts an impressive 0.9890 rating by the 247Sports Composite. While he hasn’t crossed off any schools from his original top-10 from back in February, Alabama seems to be his leader.
Will Damon Payne get Alabama one step closer towards having the best class?
Payne will announce his decision about where he will play his college football at on CBS Sports HQ on Sunday, July 26 at around 3:00 p.m. ET. Other schools in the mix for Payne include the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Kentucky Wildcats and the USC Trojans. If he were to commit to Alabama, he would be the Tide’s fourth five-star after Tommy Brockermeyer, JC Latham and Jacorey Brooks.
Even though Ohio State has the best class in the country right now by a considerable margin, gaining yet another five-star commitment in Payne will certainly help close the gap between the Buckeyes and the Crimson Tide. The interesting thing about his commitment is it doesn’t seem like Payne plans to stay home to play for the Michigan Wolverines or the Michigan State Spartans.
Of the four teams he’s likeliest to go to, Alabama is the preeminent program of the quartet. Sure, there might be the allure of playing on the West Coast at places like Arizona State or USC. However, the best bet to get Payne’s commitment outside of Alabama just might be Mark Stoops’ Kentucky program. Payne would get to play in the SEC and play relatively closer to home down in Lexington.
If Payne commits to the Crimson Tide, Alabama may eventually usurp Ohio State at No. 1.
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