Alabama loses out on 4-star recruit as Sherrone Moore's Michigan comes out victorious after flip announcement

Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide lost out on a 4-star recruit to Sherrone Moore and the Michigan Wolverines as signing day for the February class opened on Wednesday. On the first day of the February signing period, four-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood flipped from Alabama to Michigan.

Haywood had been committed to Alabama but opted not to sign in December and ultimately with Michigan.

According to 247Sports, Haywood is ranked No. 39 in the class of 2025 and is the No. 6-ranked offensive tackle in the class. Hailing from Denton, Texas, Haywood is listed at 6-foot-5 and 297 lbs. He was heavily recruited by SEC teams, but after delaying his commitment, he visited Ann Arbor in January, which led to him flipping from Alabama.

Haywood has a chance to be a Day 1 starter as a freshman at Michigan. With Haywood's commitment, Michigan has the No.6-ranked recruiting class, while Alabama is at No. 3, despite losing the four-star offensive tackle.

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Alabama's Kalen DeBoer happy with first recruiting cycle

Kalen DeBoer finished off his first season as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. He replaced Nick Saban and his first year didn't go as expected as Alabama failed to make the 12-team playoff. Yet, in his first true recruiting cycle, DeBoer is happy with what he was able to accomplish.

“I feel really good about what we did, whether it’s with the high school class or filling in some gaps with our portal,” said DeBoer, via On3. “And I think the other piece is just the retention of our own team and feel good about where we’re at there.”

Alabama's 2025 recruiting class includes two five-star offensive linemen, three top 100 defensive backs, an edge rusher and a running back who are also both ranked in the top 100.

DeBoer says there still is room to add more players, but overall he's happy with the players he landed.

“We have a couple spots we could fill, a few, as the rest of the spring and summer comes along,” DeBoer said. “But we always are gonna tweak things and find ways to make it better. But I like, considering it was the first year, what we accomplished with the high school guys. They are in there working. They’re what we thought they would be, whether it’s athletically or just their character and then the work ethic that comes along.”

Alabama will open its 2025 college football season on Aug. 30 against Florida State.