Nick Saban and the rest of the Alabama staff continues to do great work on the recruiting trail. At the start of June, the Crimson Tide only had two top 100 prospects in its 2021 class committed.
With the addition of five-star defensive tackle Damon Payne, who committed on Sunday, Alabama now has seven top 100 prospects to go along with several other high-profile players.
The news of Payne’s came live on CBS Sports HQ, but several took to Twitter to announce the news as well:
BREAKING: Five-star DT Damon Payne has committed to #Alabama. He breaks down why he chose #RollTide with @AllenTrieuhttps://t.co/SckLCK1zYi pic.twitter.com/yyImfgp2dm
— Hank South (@HankSouth247) July 26, 2020
Five-star defensive tackle Damon Payne has committed to Alabama.
Latest big recruiting victory for Alabama. 10th commit and third five-star recruit Bama has landed since mid-June.https://t.co/gYFK2KUqaY
pic.twitter.com/7HlzIDMRlU— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) July 26, 2020
This is a much-needed boost to the Tide’s defensive front after showing off one of the top offensive line groups for 2021. In the SEC, games are won and lost in the trenches, and that’s exactly what Alabama is targeting right now.
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Payne is rated as the nation’s No. 14 overall player, No. 1 defensive tackle and No. 1 player from the state of Michigan.
With his commitment, Alabama now has a total of 16 commitments for this upcoming class. That group includes four five-stars, nine four-stars and three three-stars. It ranks as the No. 2 class in the country, trailing only the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Stay tuned for more recruiting updates on Payne and other prospects from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire network!
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