Akylin Dear, one of the nation’s top running backs, picked the Alabama football program.
The Alabama football recruiting class this season has proven the critics wrong, as the program remains a desirable destination despite the end of head coach Nick Saban’s tenure. This time, they gained the commitment of running back Akylin Dear, who was about to sign with Ole Miss but changed his mind, citing a “business decision” as the reason, according to On3 Sports.
“It is a business decision,” Dear stated of his dedication to the Crimson Tide. “Alabama has great history at running back, they know how to win, the staff shows constant love and it is the place for me.”
BREAKING: Elite 2025 RB Akylin Dear has Committed to Alabama, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’0 210 RB from Quitman, MS chose the Crimson Tide over Ole Miss & Mississippi State
“I mean who wouldn’t 🤷🏾♂️ RTR 🐘”https://t.co/QVzLbPtTwM pic.twitter.com/lt2hzdVq7H
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) August 20, 2024
“Since the first time I visited Alabama, I knew that was where I was going to end up,” she said. “I’ve been there eight or nine times and have always had the same feeling. It dates back to Nick Saban’s tenure as coach. “Something about the atmosphere at Alabama has always been unique.”
Akylin Dear cites Alabama football coaching staff as reason to committ
Dear, the No. 2 running back in the country according to On3 Sports, credits the Alabama football team’s coaching staff, namely head coach Kalen DeBoer and team position coach Robert Gillespie. The four-star rushing back went so far as to suggest that his entire family understood the Crimson Tide would be his college football home.
“The new coaching staff makes me feel right at home,” says Dear. “When I’m with coach G [Gillespie], coach DeBoer, and the staff, I feel like I’m at Quitman (Miss.). It seems like home, and I feel loved.”
“Since the first time I visited a couple of years ago, I have known Alabama was it,” she said. “I knew, my mother knew, my family knew, and now I’m committed. It’s always been that school.
Dear carried for 2,016 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior at Quitman High in Mississippi, and he praised the coaching staff, particularly Gillespie, noting that he “never gave up,” and they had some similarities.
“Coach G was really the only coach that stayed with me when I was committed,” says Dear. “Some others would talk to me and reach out a little, but Coach G stuck by me. He repeatedly texted and called me. He never gave up. That indicated how much he desired me.”
“Coach G is my dog,” Dear added. “He’s from Mississippi, like me. He played in Hattiesburg. So, why not be coached by someone like me? We’re Mississippi boys with a profound bond. Coach G is the best, and he works at Alabama, one of the best college football programs. Our bond is greater than anything, and I can’t wait to play for him.
