After a rocking start, the Alabama Crimson Tide is steadily climbing up the recruiting rankings for the 2021 class. As things stand, that class is 25th (No. 7 in the SEC) according to 247Sports and 28th (No. 8) according to Rivals.com.
With eight commitments, Roll Tide Wire decided to break those pledges down player-by-player for you. Next up on the list is safety Kaine Williams out of Marrero, Louisiana.
Kaine Williams, Safety
Height: 6-2 / Weight: 205
High School: John Ehret High School, Marrero, Louisiana
Ranking (247Sports comp): 4-star / No. 155 overall / No. 6 S / No. 6 LA
Ranking (247Sports): 4-star / N/A overall / No. 18 S / No. 12 LA
Ranking (Rivals): 4-star / No. 120 overall / No. 6 S / No. 5 LA
Ranking (ESPN): 4-star / No. 169 overall / No. 5 S / No. 6 LA
Analysis: When evaluating safety play, the most ideal candidates, as pointed out by NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah, are the ones who can: 1) play as a high safety 2) be a force player against the run or 3) line up and cover in the slot. To be considered an effective option on the backend, a player needs to be able to do at least two of those three things.
Kaine Williams should be able to do at least two of those at Alabama. He’s rangy enough with the needed athleticism and ball skills to be impactful in deep coverage as a high safety, but he’s got the body type and physical style to be a force player against the run.
For those reasons, the four-star safety is an intriguing prospect for the Crimson Tide, and he should eventually work his way into being a starter at some point down the line — even if its not until the 2022 season or beyond.
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