2023 WR Shelton Sampson Jr. lists Alabama as a top school, sets commitment date

Alabama is one of four schools that remain in the mix for 2023 five-star WR Shelton Sampson Jr. He will announce his commitment on August 6.

Alabama has seen a flurry of commitments as of late. Eight recruits committed to the Tide in July alone. It looks like the commitments will continue over into August with several Alabama targets set to announce. Shelton Sampson Jr is one of Alabama’s targets that seems to be leaning elsewhere.

Sampson Jr. released his top four schools on Sunday afternoon. The four programs in the mix are Florida State, Texas A&M, LSU, and Alabama. As it stands now, Alabama is on the outside looking in. According to On3’s RPM, LSU is favored to land Sampson Jr. with a likelihood of 89.4%. While the Tigers seem to have a sizable lead, the native of Baton Rouge is set to announce his commitment on August 6.

Sampson Jr. is regarded as a five-star, according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 181 pounds.

Something interesting to note in his recruitment is that he took three official visits this summer. On June 10, he visited Florida State. Then, he visited Alabama on July 17. After waiting over a month, he recently took an official visit to Texas A&M on July 30.

It is pretty eye-opening to learn that Sampson Jr. announced his commitment date and top schools just a day after being in College Station. However, it still appears that the Tigers are in the lead in his recruitment. Alabama has been known to land wide receivers late in the process from Louisiana. Players like DeVonta Smith, Kendrick Law, Shazz Preston, and Slade Bolden were all from the state of Louisiana and chose the Tide.

The Alabama coaching staff would like to sign three to four wide receivers in the class. As of now, there are two wide receivers committed in the ’23 class in Malik Benson and Cole Adams. Several other wide receiver targets to keep a close eye on are Jaren Hamilton and Michigan State commit Demetrius Bell. Both were in Tuscaloosa this past weekend for Alabama’s July cookout. Sampson Jr. may commit to LSU, but I expect Alabama to remain in the mix until National Signing Day.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Sampson Jr.’s recruitment as well as other Alabama football recruiting news.

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