Alabama football rose as one of the more aggressive teams on the Thursday recruiting trail. The Crimson Tide snatched five-star running back Ezavier “E.J.” Crowell. But then boosted the offense further by beating Ohio State and Ole Miss for a four-star tight end.

Mack Sutter chose Alabama less than two hours after the Crowell commitment. The Dunlap, Illinois native turns down the national champion Buckeyes and Rebels for ‘Bama. Hayes Fawcett of On3/Rivals also added in-state competitor Illinois was in the final running before Sutter chose the Tide. Sutter fired off this message to Tuscaloosa via Fawcett.

“T-town let’s do ittt. ROLL TIDE!” Sutter told the recruiting insider.

Sutter heads to Tuscaloosa as the nation's sixth-ranked TE by On3/Rivals. He's also the state of Illinois' No. 2 overall talent by the national recruiting outlet.

And he adds to an impressive college football recruiting day for head coach Kalen DeBoer and his coaching staff.

Alabama ending June recruiting in aggressive fashion

Alabama head caoch Kalen DeBoer watches the workouts at the University of Alabama Pro Day as several Crimson Tide players worked out for NFL teams in the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility.
Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Crowell helped silence some DeBoer doubters. The head coach faced harsh criticism for his ability to grab five-stars post Nick Saban.

DeBoer and his coaching staff earned not one, but two major recruiting wins on the evening.

While Sutter is No. 2 in Illinois for On3/Rivals, he's the best prospect in The Land of Lincoln by 247Sports. The 6-foot-6 Sutter even drew comparisons to one TE who played in the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Except Sutter got compared to Jared Wylie, not Travis Kelce. Hudson Standish of 247Sports made that critique of the new ‘Bama commit.

“Dynamic athlete hovering around 6-foot-5, 230 pounds who can create effortless separation before the catch and climb the ladder at the catch point,” Standish wrote in his evaluation.

Sutter became sold about DeBoer for this reason: The head coach is a Midwest native like him. Sutter loved that aspect about his future head coach in a conversation with Brett Greenberg of Bama 247.

The Tide are asserting themselves more on the trail to close out June. Alabama flipped former four-star Illinois commit Javari Barnett on June 23. Ex-Rutgers safety Rihyael Kelley also turned to Alabama on the same day.

Alabama is climbing nationally too for the 2026 recruiting rankings. Now standing at No. 20 overall after spending time between 40 to 50.