Almost two months since being employed at Alabama, Kalen DeBoer secured the largest recruiting victory of his tenure on Monday.
4-star athlete Derick Smith (No. 29 within the 2025 ESPN 300), the third-best athlete within the cycle, turned the highest-ranked prospect to pledge to the Crimson Tide following DeBoer’s arrival in Tuscaloosa.
Smith attended Alabama’s Junior Day on Feb. 3, and he additionally took visits to each Auburn (unofficial) and Florida State (Junior Day) in January.
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The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Smith, who attends in-state Southside Excessive College in Selma, Alabama, caught 46 passes for 1,487 yards and 14 landing receptions whereas including 1,036 speeding yards and 9 touchdowns in 10 video games final season.
He is the second ESPN 300 participant to decide to Alabama since Saturday, becoming a member of athlete Zymear Smith (No. 109 in 2025 ESPN 300). That momentum has been bolstered by retaining a dedication from Saraland Excessive College (Alabama) broad receiver Ryan Williams (No. 3 within the 2024 ESPN 300), who reclassified from 2025 and helped spotlight ESPN’s second-best class in 2024.
The additions of each Derick and Zymear Smith give a giant enhance to the Tide’s early 2025 fortunes on the path, particularly in gentle of four-star broad receiver Jaime Ffrench, Jr. (No. 14 in 2025 ESPN 300) decommitting on Jan. 14 after Saban’s retirement.