I think this is nonstarter but if it does come true then it likely means maybe we lose someone .
2026 Recruiting
- Thread starter jambama1
- Start date
Does anyone have an idea of how many players we are looking at taking this cycle? It's my understanding that the SEC is staying at 85 roster spots, so I'm guessing our class won't be as large as some other schools. I actually think this is a good move by the SEC. Twenty extra spots would be great, but they'll stretch their revenue sharing too thin that way.
Jimmy Stein on Locked on Bama predicts 3 more making 22.
I keep hearing 22. That may not be a hard and fast number if someone becomes available but seems to make sense. Did 22 last year also
That's saves room for the portal
So we take three more and then we are more selective going forward. I like this balanced approach of high school kids and transfer portal.
It’s a new world and I know time will tell, but looks like our coaches have a good idea about how to navigate it.
I think Courtney Morgan has a lot to do with our success. Chop, what are you hearing as far as that is concerned?
I don’t think walk-on rules are set for the SEC for 2026.
For 2025, the SEC, unlike other conferences, allows only 85 scholarships (and 20 walk-ons), but I am unsure that the rules for 2026 are set.
If the SEC allows an additional 20 scholarships for 2026, then that could shake things up
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Its unlikely. 85 is kind of all you need on scholarship (wouldnt be able to keep much more than that due to portal) and if the sec is agreeing they cant afford to go with 105 with rev share. Unlikely anyone else does either.
I dont think anything is set but I wouldn't expect a major expansion anytime soon.
You make a good point, Poke.
Suppose money wasn't a factor, and you could sign as many players as you wanted. You wouldn't have, say, 200 on a team because you couldn't possibly manage practice or playing time or S&C development for all of them.
Your best players wouldn't get the reps they need to stay sharp, and you'd spend an inordinate amount of time working with players who aren't going to play anyway. Everybody loses.
It's definitely a balancing act -- for a laundry list of other reasons, you also wouldn't want to have too few players on the team, either.
Point being, I agree with you....other than increasing the chances of finding a diamond in the rough, going from 85 scholarships to 105 doesn't generate a lot of marginal benefit.
When's the last time we had to nudge a material contributor out the door because we didn't have room?
Max of 105 players is NCAA rule. NCAA has also made it clear that it allows all 105 of them to be on the scholarships.
85 scholarships is a SEC rule that is specifically for 2025. We can only speculate about 2026 and how likely SEC will keep it.
Thanks for the clarification.
My main point -- that I kind of obscured -- is that I don't think the SEC's limit of 85 gives any real advantage to another conference that might allow the NCAA-dictated max of 105.
4* ILB Brayden Rouse announcing tomorrow and we are a finalist along with Michigan, Tenn and Texas. Have not heard any buzz on him lately so not expecting his commitment.
I believe it will come down between Texas and Tennessee. I would lean Tennessee from what I'm seeing on social media.
If the barn continues to recuit at the current rate regardless of anything their fanbase spewed on the new rules, it will undoubtedly bite them in their collective butts and have a long lasting effect that could possibly erase the last two Top 10 class they accumulated.
They reiterate excessively on Freeze stating he needed 3 consecutive top classes in order to get back to competing in the SEC and beyond. If the 2026 class falls short of those expectations, they all agreed it's time to panic. The next 6 months should tell us a lot.
Is it too early for this: So if the barn will be looking soon for a replacement for the Rev, who fits the bill? The only coaches out there that beat Coach Saban (seems to be a part of their hiring criteria), are Sark, Smart and Dabo and they have zero chance at any of those guys.
Jim Harbaugh also belongs on that list, and as delusional as Barn fans are, they probably think they could hire him away from the Chargers.Is it too early for this: So if the barn will be looking soon for a replacement for the Rev, who fits the bill? The only coaches out there that beat Coach Saban (seems to be a part of their hiring criteria), are Sark, Smart and Dabo and they have zero chance at any of those guys.
Yeah, I started to put him on that list, but he would have a show-cause on him if he returned. Come to think of it, that would meet one of the items on their hiring criteria...
The barn is in a pickle. In the last five years, they've paid a total of over $36 million in buyouts to Malzahn and Harsin. For several reasons, both monetary and to maintain a marginally acceptable facade in the coaching ranks, they can't afford to fire Freeze.
Their current low recruiting ranking will improve. It can't not improve. That doesn't mean the final result will help them in their goal of getting to serious contention for anything that matters.
Flips leading up to or on signing day garner a lot of attention. There aren't that many of them, but human nature is that we remember them far more than their actual frequency. So I don't know how they think they were unable to secure commitments, but will be able to salvage their recruiting class by flipping multiple players on signing day. Chalk it up to wishful barn logic.
They've already run their collective mouths about owning recruiting in the state of Alabama, and those words aren't tasting so good on the way back down. You'd think they'd learn. But when it comes to Alabama, the barn can't think its way out of play school.
All that said, the barn has a long history of confounding pre-season expectations....both ways. When they're predicted to struggle, they pull out a strong season. When they're predicted to contend for the SEC or national honors, they implode. So I have no idea how this season will turn out for them.
Regardless, and as usual, they will put everything they have into beating us at the barn. The week before us, they play Mercer. Mercer is FCS, so there might not be a betting line on the game. But if you can find one, take Mercer plus the points. Freeze will have spent the Mercer week preparing for us.
Come to think of it, they play Vandy on the road the week before that. I wouldn't be surprised if Freeze is preparing for us leading up to that game -- three weeks ahead of our actual game. Especially if the season hasn't gone well, they're not in contention for anything better than the Birmingham Bowl, and Freeze sees a chance to bolster his reputation as a Bama killer.
I confess to enjoying watching the barn twist in the wind. Still, I'm wary. They usually play their best game of the year -- by light years -- against us in their stadium.
A win down there will not be easy no matter what their record is heading in.
Their current low recruiting ranking will improve. It can't not improve. That doesn't mean the final result will help them in their goal of getting to serious contention for anything that matters.
Flips leading up to or on signing day garner a lot of attention. There aren't that many of them, but human nature is that we remember them far more than their actual frequency. So I don't know how they think they were unable to secure commitments, but will be able to salvage their recruiting class by flipping multiple players on signing day. Chalk it up to wishful barn logic.
They've already run their collective mouths about owning recruiting in the state of Alabama, and those words aren't tasting so good on the way back down. You'd think they'd learn. But when it comes to Alabama, the barn can't think its way out of play school.
All that said, the barn has a long history of confounding pre-season expectations....both ways. When they're predicted to struggle, they pull out a strong season. When they're predicted to contend for the SEC or national honors, they implode. So I have no idea how this season will turn out for them.
Regardless, and as usual, they will put everything they have into beating us at the barn. The week before us, they play Mercer. Mercer is FCS, so there might not be a betting line on the game. But if you can find one, take Mercer plus the points. Freeze will have spent the Mercer week preparing for us.
Come to think of it, they play Vandy on the road the week before that. I wouldn't be surprised if Freeze is preparing for us leading up to that game -- three weeks ahead of our actual game. Especially if the season hasn't gone well, they're not in contention for anything better than the Birmingham Bowl, and Freeze sees a chance to bolster his reputation as a Bama killer.
I confess to enjoying watching the barn twist in the wind. Still, I'm wary. They usually play their best game of the year -- by light years -- against us in their stadium.
A win down there will not be easy no matter what their record is heading in.
