Alabama just flexed on the rest of the country in the 2028 recruiting cycle. Tysir Young, a 6'3, 215-pound linebacker out of Delaware, announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide, choosing Kalen DeBoer's program over Miami, Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia and Rutgers. That's not a list of nobodies. That's a murderer's row of programs all whiffing on the same kid.
Rivals' Hayes Fawcett broke the commitment news, noting Young is ranked the No. 7 linebacker in the 2028 class.
The recruitment reportedly started back in March, when Alabama extended an offer on Young's very first visit to Tuscaloosa. According to reporting on the commitment, it took about four months of Young hearing out other schools before he circled back to the Tide. That's a fast burn for a 2028 prospect — kids this age usually milk recruitments for years, not months.
Ranked as the No. 7 linebacker nationally in the Rivals Industry Rankings, Young is exactly the kind of early-cycle get that programs love to trumpet. Landing a top-10 guy at his position with two-plus years left before he even steps on campus is a signal to the rest of the 2028 board that Alabama is serious about restocking the front seven early and often.
This isn't a one-off, either. Young's pledge reportedly gives Alabama's 2028 class buzz as one of the better hauls in the country this early, with the Tide already positioning near the top of the SEC for the cycle. DeBoer inherited a program with sky-high recruiting standards from the Nick Saban era, and beating out Georgia and Ohio State head-to-head for a top prospect is the kind of proof-of-concept win that quiets doubters fast.
For Miami, Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia and Rutgers, this one stings a little more than a typical miss simply because of how many big names were in the room. Losing a top-10 linebacker to Alabama isn't an upset — it's business as usual — but every one of those programs will use this loss as motivation for the next elite defender who takes a visit to their campus instead.
Young obviously has years of development, camps and re-rankings ahead of him before he ever sees the field in Tuscaloosa, and plenty can change between now and National Signing Day in 2028. But for a program that lives and dies by out-recruiting everyone else in the building, adding a top-7 linebacker this early is exactly the kind of win Alabama needed to keep flexing its recruiting muscle in the post-Saban era.