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The Alabama Crimson Tide's 2025 football recruiting class just got a little bit deeper. Four-star edge rusher Justin Hill has officially shut down his recruitment and intends to sign with Alabama on December 4, according to On3's Hayes Fawcett.
“Bama Family, I’m Home!!! No Questions Asked,” Hill wrote in his announcement on Instagram.
Hill initially committed to Alabama in July, bolstering the school's 2025 class, which ranks third in the country, according to ESPN. The high school senior from Cincinnati chose the Crimson Tide over offers from Ohio State, Oregon, and USC.
“Let All Naysayers Know,” he wrote in his first announcement.
A consensus four-star recruit, Hill is listed at 6'3 and 220 pounds, with ESPN ranking him the 60th overall player in his class. He told On3 that he is working on becoming a more disciplined player before he heads to Tuscaloosa.
“I've been more focused on what I have to do make myself the best player I can be,” he said. “I want to be a leader. So, I do certain things differently. I've learned I can't take anything for granted, so that means I have to be the best Justin Hill that I can be.”
Last year at Winton Woods High School, Hill tallied 36 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, 13 sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Alabama football is gaining momentum on the recruiting trail
Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff have had to do some extra legwork after many in the Crimson Tide's 2025 class left when Nick Saban announced his retirement.
They've done just fine since then. Hill reaffirming his commitment comes just a week after Alabama flipped then-Michigan commit Ivan Taylor, the No. 5 cornerback in his class and 50th-ranked recruit overall. DeBoer also flipped Keelon Russell, then an SMU commit and the No. 14 player in the 2025 class.
Russell is currently the highest-ranked commit the Crimson Tide have, per ESPN, just ahead of No. 18, offensive tackle Ty Haywood.
With Alabama 8-3 and likely out of the College Football Playoff discussion, the focus will soon shift to next season, where DeBoer still has plenty of work to do, either in recruiting high schoolers or going through the transfer portal. DeBoer isn't going to recruit at the level that Saban did, but he doesn't necessarily have to. He's already shown the ability to bring in elite talent, and in the portal and NIL eras, recruiting classes are likely to be less stacked all-around compared to even just a few years ago.
The on-field results haven't been what the Crimson Tide wanted this year, but there's still plenty of promise moving forward.
