Before Ryan Grubb extended an offer to 2026 Cincinnati quarterback Matt Ponatoski, the Alabama football offensive coordinator got the big question out of the way.
Ponatoski, the incoming senior quarterback at Archbishop Moeller High School, is also a renowned baseball recruit, one who committed to Missouri as an eighth grader, who is the No. 16 high school baseball prospect nationally per Baseball America and one who plans to play both football and baseball for as long as he can.
And if the uncommitted four-star quarterback were to choose Alabama, Ponatoski said, Grubb said that plan would become a reality.
“(Grubb) was like, ‘You can come here and play both at Alabama,’” Ponatoski said, securing a Crimson Tide offer after Alabama quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan watched him throw in-person.
Alabama is looking for a 2026 quarterback, one to add to a roster that could include each of the three scholarship quarterbacks the Crimson Tide has on its 2025 roster: Ty Simpson, Austin Mack and Keelon Russell. Ponatoski is one of two recent 2026 quarterback offers, along with Nebraska four-star and Iowa State commit Jett Thomalla.
Even with a full room, Ponatoski, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound athlete listed as the No. 22 quarterback in the 2026 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings, realizes that playing time at a place like Alabama carries weight, no matter how long it may be for.
“You only need one year at Alabama,” Ponatoski said. “And (if) you play good, you’re in the NFL.”
That’s the path Moeller football coach Bert Bathiany sees for Ponatoski, someone he calls “a once-in-a-lifetime player,” who has “every single passing record known to man” for the Crusaders including career passing yards and career touchdown passes with one season left to play.
“He has the best arm talent I have ever…
Source link : https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/story/sports/college/football/2025/05/20/alabama-football-2026-recruiting-matt-ponatoski-shares-crimson-tide-pitch-alabama-basebal/83670552007/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-05-20 09:03:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
