Happy 4th of July everyone. You wouldn’t know it when you walk outside, but the cold summer in Tuscaloosa continues with two more signings, a borderline 4/5 star edge from Ohio and a kicker from Pittsburgh.
Alabama’s summer recruiting momentum continued Wednesday as the Crimson Tide signed four-star prospect Justin Hill, the No. 4 edge rusher and No. 58 overall player in the 247Sports Composite. His commitment comes one day after Alabama signed four-star tight end Kaleb Edwards.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Hill from Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati chose Alabama over Ohio State, which had long been considered a favorite in his recruitment, as well as Oregon and USC.
Notaro had a great junior season in 2023, making 7 of 8 field goals for 47 yards, returning 69 of 93 of his kickoffs for touchbacks (74%) and making 23 of 24 PATs. His performances earned him WPIAL Class 6A First Team All-Conference honors and helped North Allegheny to the WPIAL title and the PIAA finals.
Getting Hill away from Ohio State is a huge deal.
In Alabama, too, there were some attempts to withdraw by some of the lower-ranked members of the class.
Smith, who plays football at Maryland High School in North Carolina, committed to Alabama in March but recently took an official visit to Maryland. His 247 overall grade makes him the 12th-best athlete in his class.
Johnson plays high school football at TR Miller in Brewton. He committed to UA in October when Nick Saban was still the Crimson Tide’s head coach before Kalen DeBoer took over the role.
The 247 Composite ranked Johnson as the No. 51 linebacker in the class of 2025. He has other offers from clubs such as Florida, Liberty and Mississippi State.
Needless to say, the price has gotten a lot lower since these guys joined. Good luck to you both.
Jalen Milroe says the offense will be explosive this season.
We will be very explosive in attack,” Milroe recently said in a podcast appearance. “We have a lot of great talent, whether it’s in the receiver room, the offensive line room, the running back room, the tight end room, overall we’re going to be successful this year. One thing I can definitely say is we’re not going to be one-dimensional. We have a really good receiver group that all play differently, and when you have that, man, you can’t be one-dimensional. We have a tight end room that’s utilized in the passing game and the running game.
“The challenge every day is mastering that aspect of football. They do that really well. The running back group all play differently and play to their strengths, but they also do a really good job of coming together as a unit and challenging each other every day to be their best.”
Finally, Nate Oats has added another player from the NBA to his assistant coaching staff.
Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats has reportedly finalized his roster for the 2024-25 season as the Crimson Tide looks to return to the Final Four. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Oats is hiring Brian Adams of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach.
Adams will replace Austin Claunch on the Tide staff, who left the team to take over as head coach at Texas-San Antonio.
Please forgive me, I’ve never heard of Adams, but I hope he helps Alabama win a national title. And that comes from the heart.
That’s it for now. We wish you happy and safe holidays.
Rolling tide.
