Bama lands prized RB recruit, contributes to ’25 class

• Eli Lederman, ESPN Personnel WriterAug 20, 2024, 03:21 PM ET

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  Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Alabama landed

its fourth top-30 dedication in the 2025 class Tuesday afternoon when four-star possibility Akylin Dear, the No. 2 running back in the 2025 cycle, revealed his promise to the Crimson Tide.Dear, a previous Ole Miss devote from Quitman, Mississippi, is the No. 29 prospect in the 2025 ESPN 300. The 6-foot, 205-pound Dear devoted to Alabama over the Rebels and fellow in-state finalist Mississippi State after resuming his recruitment earlier this summer, handing Kalen DeBoer the most recent high-profile addition to his inaugural recruiting class with the Crimson Tide.Alabama now holds 15 top-300 commitments in 2025, led by Dear and fellow top-30 pledges offensive take on Ty Haywood (No. 18 in the ESPN 300 ), wide receiver Caleb Cunningham(No. 19)and cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. (No. 25). The Crimson Tide sit at No. 2 in ESPN’s latest group rankings for the 2025 cycle as Dear’s promise gives the Crimson Tide another piece of favorable momentum in the program’s pursuit of landing the country’s top signing class this fall.Editor’s Picks 2 Related”I’m delighted to be a part of an elite organization that is going to contend every year and make every effort to win a national championship, “Dear told ESPN.”I’m going to have the ability to say I bet Alabama Crimson Tide, which is most likely one of the greatest programs ever in the history of college football. Having the ability to follow in the footsteps of numerous greats and accepting the challenge to be elite above all other things has actually constantly been my general objective.” According to ESPN rankings, Dear is the No. 2 prospect in the state of Mississippi for his class. He emerged amongst the country’s top running backs in the backfield at Quitman High School throughout the fall of 2022, when he hurried for 800 backyards and 21 touchdowns in his sophomore season. High-level deals across the Power 4 followed, and Dear’s recruiting profile swelled further in a junior year that saw him overall 2,016 rushing backyards and 27 touchdowns last fall.Dear initially committed to Ole Miss on March 30 of this year. At the time, he represented the leading possibility devoted to Lane Kiffin’s

latest class and a crucial get for the Rebels after the program did not sign a running back in the 2024 class. But Dear’s verbal promise eventually lasted not even three months, as he decommitted from Ole Miss on June 28, pulling his promise in the midst of a flurry of late-June exits from the Rebels’2025 class. “I believed [Ole Miss] was what I actually desired, however at the exact same time I was actually sort of just overwhelmed and tired of the recruitment procedure,

“Dear stated. “During my search, I’ve constantly [sought] the feeling of a sense of home, and I didn’t feel that completely when I was committed to Ole Miss. Something just was missing out on. “Dear took spring main check outs to Florida and Alabama before his decommitment, and he told ESPN the transfer to reopen his recruitment provided an opportunity

to review his top priorities at the next level. One month after decommitting from Ole Miss, Dear was back in Tuscaloosa for Alabama’s Champions Cook-Out. Notably, Dear did not take main sees to Ole Miss or Mississippi State during the summertime before committing to the Crimson Tide.Alabama associate head coach Freddie Roach and running backs coach Robert Gillespie led Dear’s recruitment for the Crimson Tide. “It felt like home,”Dear said of Alabama.”The coaching staff, the environment, the pursuit of success as a company, the ambiance of all the players, the variety of running backs that they have actually produced and put in the NFL.

Most of all, [Gillespie] has actually been absolutely excellent to me, and truly thinks in me and my capability to add to his room.”As one of those 15 ESPN 300 commits pledged to the Crimson Tide’s 2025 class, Dear joins fellow top-100 rusher Anthony Rogers(No. 98 in the ESPN 300)as the only running back devoted to Alabama in this cycle. The Crimson Tide lost a commitment from four-star athlete/running back pledge Zymear Smith(No. 137)in July. Smith later dedicated to Maryland.