Alabama football recruiting: Crimson Tide lands commitment from 2026 CB recruit Dorian Barney

Alabama landed the commitment of 2026 class cornerback Dorian Barney on Sunday. This was first reported by On3 Recruiting's Hayes Fawcett, who had an interview with the player. He committed to the Crimson Tide ahead of Ohio State, Florida State and USC.

Barney, who attends Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia, is ranked as the consensus No. 62 prospect in the nation in the class of 2026 on major recruiting composite ranking. He is also the No. 5 cornerback in his class and the No. 9 prospect from Georgia.

The standout cornerback becomes the second prospect to commit to Alabama in the class of 2026. He joins fellow defensive back Jamarion Gordon as the first group of Crimson Tide recruits for the class. Gordon only gave his commitment to the program a day earlier.

Dorian Barney visited Tuscaloosa twice before commitment

Dorian Barney paid two visits to Tuscaloosa earlier this year in March when he was evaluating his commitment decision. The cornerback saw enough to feel confident in giving his commitment to the Crimson Tide, which is set to proceed into a new era under Kalen DeBoer.

He gave the program his commitment in just his sophomore year at high school. He also commented on his ambition to become the best.

“I wanna be the best, so I’m gonna go play for the best, RTR,” Dorian Barney told Fawcett.

His recruitment was spearheaded by new co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist. He arrived in Tuscaloosa earlier this year to join DeBoer’s coaching staff. The coach spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the University of Buffalo.

The first full class to be assembled by Kalen DeBoer

The Alabama football class of 2026 will be the first set to be fully assembled by Kalen DeBoer and his coaching staff. The coach was hired in January following the sudden retirement of Nick Saban and has the responsibility of maintaining the Crimson Tide's winning standard.

Saban and his staff secured the commitment of a few players in the class of 2025 before exiting the program. However, the majority of the recruiting work for the class will be done by the new coaching staff and they've proceeded on that since arriving in Tuscaloosa.

While the Alabama class of 2026 has just two recruits so far, the class of 2025 currently boasts 10 hard commits. DeBoer and his staff will aim to keep up the program's recruiting standard in both classes.