Alabama Signing Day Capsule: 2023 tight end Ty Lockwood
Ty Lockwood‘s recruitment took a sharp turn this past summer.
The four-star prospect committed to Ohio State back on Aug. 19, 2021, before the start of his junior season. Lockwood would go on to become one of the program’s top recruiters in the 2023 class, both on social media and behind the scenes.
Alabama Crimson Tide Early Signing Period Recruiting Central
After camping at Alabama in late July this past summer, however, Lockwood earned an offer from tight ends coach Joe Cox. It took less than a week for Lockwood to flip his commitment to the Crimson Tide on Aug. 2 of this year.
On Wednesday, which is the first day of the Early Signing Period, Lockwood made things official with Bama by signing his Letter of Intent to play for the program in college. Lockwood, who suffered a season-ending injury (torn labrum) in his senior year, will enroll at Alabama next month.
Cox and Company are also pursuing CJ Dippre, a tight end transfer out of Maryland.
Future Alabama Tight End Ty Lockwood Signing Profile
Name: Ty Lockwood
Position: Tight End
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 225 pounds
High school and hometown: Independence High/Thompson’s Station (Tenn.)
On3 Consensus Rankings: No. 226 overall/No. 13 TE/No. 5 in Tennessee
Why Lockwood flipped from Ohio State to Alabama (Full Story HERE): “I was as locked in as I could possibly be, but I always had a little doubt in there. Ohio State is a great place and I have a lot of respect for the coaches, but I had questions about the fit.
“There is nothing bad about Ohio State or the coaches there, but I owed it to myself to venture out a little, check out other schools, and I found the best fit at Alabama. I made that instant connection with Coach Cox, I love the offense, and I get to stay closer to home and play in the SEC. Alabama never went away, they stayed present in my recruitment, and I feel best about the fit there for me.”
Independence head coach, Scott Stidham, on Lockwood’s skill set (Full Story HERE): “He’s a tight end and most players at his position are not ready to play right away. You are going up against grown men when you start playing for a top school. He knows he needs to work on becoming a better blocker, but what separates him for a lot of people is his catch radius. It is ridiculous. He has long arms and great length. He will always find a way to come down with the ball. His catch radius is special.”
On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power’s analysis of Lockwood (Full Story HERE): “He can extend to make elevated catches or even bend down to scoop balls off the dirt,” Power said. “I saw him do a couple of those in person last year. I think he’s a very reliable target with those ball skills…. He’s just a reliable target that you can play on all downs: Run and also passing downs. Create a push in the run game and be your very reliable possession receiver as a tight end.”
Click HERE to watch Lockwood’s most recent highlights!
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