Getty Alabama football is losing a major feeder with Thompson High School's top players committing elsewhere during this recruiting cycle.
There has long been a pipeline from Birmingham-area Thompson High School to Alabama football, but that feeder system has been disrupted in a big way during the 2022 recruiting cycle — another potential sign that the rest of college football is starting to catch up to the Crimson Tide.
Two prominent Thompson Warriors, Peter Woods and Tony Mitchell, appear to be headed elsewhere in 2023. Woods, a six-foot-three, 270-pound defensive lineman, chose Clemson outright over Alabama during his initial decision. Mitchell, a defensive back, appears likely to flip to Texas A&M after announcing his intent to join the Tide back in June according to AL.com’s Nick Alvarez.
Being that the Alabaster high school is a little over an hour away from Tuscaloosa and even run a “watered-down” version of Nick Saban’s defense, it’s a sign of the times that other Power Five schools are convincing Thompson kids not to stay home.
2021 Alabama Recruit Couldn’t Convince Pair to Choose Alabama
Class of 2021 Alabama recruit and former Thompson High School edge rusher Jeremiah Alexander tried to get Peter Woods and Tony Mitchell to join the Crimson Tide, but his efforts have so far been in vain. Woods still appreciated the efforts and shared as much to AL.com.
“I played with a lot of those guys. They kind of took me under their wing when I came up as an eighth-grader and freshman, kind of teach me how to be in-game,” Woods said. “Some of the leaders of the group, the Jacksons and the Jeremiahs and the Tre`Quons. … It means a lot, just being that guy passing that (leadership) torch down.”
Many players could ultimately benefit from joining programs with more chances to play from Alabama, but Nick Saban could be showing the wear and tear of a 49-year coaching career by falling behind in the NIL era with a local talent-rich high school that all but had an unofficial partnership with the University of Alabama.
Transition to NIL Era Has Been Challenge for Nick Saban
Nick Saban has always been skeptical about the NIL rules, which started in the summer of 2021 and has shaped the decisions of many recruits across every sport — and somewhat leveling the playing field for programs that have the booster support to throw large sums of advertising dollars towards teenagers.
“Look, the dynamics of recruiting have changed,” Saban said during a December 15, 2021 press conference. “We’re not supposed to use name, image and likeness as something that influences a player to choose a school. It’s something that he should earn after he enrolls in the school.”
Still, Saban vows to compete in this new era of collegiate athletic recruitment. “I’m not going to make any comments about who did what or what happened out there in recruiting,” Saban said. “But all’s I know is we want to have the best program that we can in name, image and likeness when they get here as players so they can create and develop value for themselves so that they get opportunities to have additional income when it comes to name, image and likeness. I was very pleased with how our players did this year and hopefully we’ll continue to expand on that in the future.”
So far, Alabama is looking a lot less dominant following the implementation of NIL. Time will dictate whether or not things revert back to the norm.