Significant Recruiting News for Alabama Ahead of the LSU Rivalry Matchup

The Alabama Crimson Tide notched a huge recruiting win on Thursday, landing 4-star defensive line recruit Vodney Cleveland out of Birmingham.

Cleveland, one of the nation’s top DL recruits in the 2026 class, chose Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide team over Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Oregon, Miami and several other top college football programs.

Cleveland announced his decision on Thursday, crediting the recruiting efforts of both DeBoer and defensive line coach Freddie Roach.

DeBoer already has a stacked recruiting class joining the program next season. The Crimson Tide have five 5-stars and 14 4-stars on the way in 2025, giving Alabama the No. 1-ranked recruiting class according to 247 Sports rankings.

Cleveland is the second member of the Crimson Tide’s 2026 recruiting class, joining 4-star cornerback Dorian Barney.

Alabama bounced back from its loss to Tennessee with a dominant 34-0 win over Missouri this past weekend. After this week’s bye, the Crimson Tide will look to notch another ranked win in a matchup against No. 16 LSU at Tiger Stadium.

Next Saturday’s Nov. 9 game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST in front of a packed-out crowd in Death Valley.