Alabama football lit a fire under its recruiting efforts for the summer. Landing multiple five-stars before and after the Fourth of July. But the Crimson Tide lost out on landing a top 10 athlete to a surprise Big Ten challenger.
Four-star Jacob Eberhart pulled a stunner by choosing Illinois Saturday. With Alabama among the big names leftover on his list.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder turned down more than the Crimson Tide too. Hayes Fawcett of On3/Rivals revealed Eberhart had two more Southeastern Conference schools and a Big Ten program on his short list: Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Still, Eberhart becomes a key loss for the Tide on the recruiting trail. Landing the safety/linebacker likely would’ve boosted Alabama’s recruiting ranking higher.
Alabama put together a string of impressive college football recruiting wins. Safety Jireh Edwards is one recent Alabama pledge, as the five-star committed on July 5. Wide receiver Cederian Morgan is another five-star win for the Crimson Tide, committing July 2.
How Alabama lost top 10 ATH to Illinois
Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images
Chalk this up as a massive recruiting win for Bret Bielema and the Fighting Illini. Bielema once had difficulty out-recruiting Nick Saban and ‘Bama while at Arkansas. He helped secure a major win here.
How did Illinois pull it off in the end? Allen Trieu of 247Sports dipped into how Illinois landed Eberhart.
“I connected with every coach, and they are just great people,” Eberhart told Trieu. “Everywhere had great people, but it just feels like home in Champaign.”
He’s projected to man a safety/LB hybrid spot for the Illini. Illinois can play him inside the box plus hand him free reign in covering running backs and tight ends.
Eberhart brings an offensive background too. He caught 42 passes for 795 yards with 13 touchdowns.
Alabama, meanwhile,…
Source link : https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-football/alabama-football-news-tide-loses-top-10-ath-to-illinois
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Publish date : 2025-07-13 00:48:00
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