Kalen DeBoer & Co. in driving seat to recruit 2 in-state targets despite the duo’s Auburn visit: Reports

Modified Apr 08, 2025 22:01 GMT

NCAA Football: Senior Bowl - Source: Imagn

Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide are close to recruiting two key players, Cedarian Morgan and Xavier Crowell, according to reports from On3 on Tuesday.

They both met with Bama's rivals, the Auburn Tigers, this weekend. However, according to the reports from On3, it is the Crimson Tide who is in the driving seat for the players.

Morgan is a four-star wide receiver from Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, Alabama. He is also seen as the second-best wide receiver in the 2026 class nationally and the best player from the state of Alabama (247Sports).

Morgan is coming off a decent junior year in high school football. He recorded 1,162 yards from 70 catches and scored 14 touchdowns. His success was not able to help Benjamin Russell HS have a good year, as they went 5-6. Morgan is likely to remain in the state of Alabama, and most of his offers to play college football have come from the numerous colleges in the state.

Xavier Crowell is a running back at Jackson High School in Jackson, Alabama. According to 247sports.com, Crowell is a four-star prospect and is seen as the fourth-best running back in the 2026 recruitment class.

He had an impressive junior year: 1,964 rushing yards from 168 carries and 31 touchdowns.

Unlike Morgan, Crowell is a candidate for numerous big college football programs. As well as Alabama and Auburn, Crowell has also visited the likes of Texas, Florida and Georgia. However, it again seems that Alabama is the favorite to get the player.

What can these players do to help Kalen DeBoer and Alabama?

Both Cedarian Morgan and Xavier Crowell are likely to help Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer in the coming years if they do commit to the Crimson Tide program.

Morgan will add to the ever-growing class of talented wide receivers. He will be able to play alongside Ryan Williams in an ever-changing Alabama team that needs all the talent it can find.

Crowell will be a serious help to the run game. This had been something that Bama did not need to worry about much when Jalen Milroe was its QB due to his mobility. But with Milroe gone, more running backs will not do Bama any harm.

About the author

Ben Tredinnick is a journalist who covers college football and college basketball at Sportskeeda who is currently studying for a masters in Data Science. His degree in Psychology has helped him gain an in-depth understanding of the minds of coaches.

Ben has been involved in sports writing since 2022 and covered the NFL previously. His strengths include providing in-depth profiles of athletes and coaches, with a particular focus on development, and looking at which teams could be in the hunt for today's college stars.

Ben enjoys following college sports more than the NBA or NFL because there is more variation in terms of playstyles. The tournaments are often more competitive than the major leagues, and due to the constant turnover of players, there are rarely any "superteams" in college sports.

He prioritizes research, looks at multiple sources and publications to make sure he gets the full picture of the story before writing. He tries not to write from a one-sided perspective to allow the reader to be able to make their mind up on their own.

A Texas Longhorns fan, as well as a massive New York Giants fan, some of his favorite college players of all time are Arch Manning, Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush.

When he is not working, Ben enjoys watching films (especially Godzilla) and spending time with his cat.

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Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann