Nick Saban and Alabama football found their latest 2024 recruit in an unusual place: Germany. The Crimson Tide landed 3-star linebacker Justin Okoronkwo from across the pond and added their 11th commitment in the class.

Okoronkwo originally committed to Maryland in November. Despite his commitment, he made four official visits in June to Maryland, Alabama, Nebraska, and Georgia. Okoronkwo chose to decommit from Maryland Saturday night and didn't wait long to announce his commitment to Alabama on Sunday afternoon.

The inside linebacker plays for the Nurnberg Rams, who compete in the second division of the German Football League, GFL 2. It's not super common for teams to find international recruits for American football. PPI Recruits is an organization that helps bring European athletes to the United States to play NCAA football. CEO Brandon Collier has been helping with this mission for nearly a decade now.

“He's a special talent, the best one I've worked with so far,” Collier said, per 247Sports. “He’s 6-3, 225, ran as fast as 4.49 this summer and has elite measurements. A 10.5 broad, 38 vertical and he runs a 4.06 shuttle.”

“He has some of the most elite numbers you’re going to see out of a guy that size. If he was at the NFL combine he’d rank top five in every drill at his position. He’s a true middle linebacker but he has pass rush skills. He’s a physical prospect. I think he’ll play early.”

Okoronkwo participated in an event hosted by PPI in October, and 247Sports' Cooper Petagna was impressed with what he saw. “A smooth athlete for his size, the former gymnast appears very natural in pass coverage, showing the ability to play man-to-man or drop in zone coverage comfortably at the second level,” Petagna said.

“Although Okoronkwo’s athletic ability was not so much of a surprise, his instincts and physicality during Saturday’s controlled scrimmage helped separate him from his peers.”