The finish line to college football's 2022 recruiting cycle is a long way off, but Alabama already has commitments from a five-star quarterback and a five-star running back.
On the heels of receiving a commitment late last month from quarterback Ty Simpson - the son of former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive coordinator Jason Simpson, UT Martin's head coach since 2006 - the Crimson Tide received a nonbinding pledge this weekend from in-state running back Emmanuel Henderson. A standout in basketball as well, Henderson committed to Alabama on Saturday after announcing Friday via Twitter that he had received hoops scholarship offers from Auburn and Georgia.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder from Geneva County High School in Hartford, which is a half-hour from Dothan, rushed 147 times for 1,449 yards (9.9 per carry) and 20 touchdowns this past fall as a junior. He is the nation's No. 2 running back and No. 28 prospect overall in the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
Henderson would be the eighth five-star running back to sign with the Tide during the Nick Saban era, joining Trent Richardson in 2009, T.J. Yeldon in 2012, Derrick Henry in 2013, Damien Harris in 2015, Najee Harris in 2017, Trey Sanders in 2019 and Camar Wheaton last month. Mark Ingram just missed five-star status in 2008, as did the trio of Alvin Kamara, Altee Tenpenny and Tyren Jones in 2013.
Yeldon is the only five-star member of that collection who was from Alabama, so Henderson would be the second.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.