4-star CB Chuck McDonald commits to Alabama: "I am going to Alabama, a place of greatness"
Heading into his official visit to Alabama on May 31, Chuck McDonald was planning to take official visits to Alabama, Georgia, Oregon and USC before making a decision. In recruiting, the saying is, when you know, you know, and McDonald knew in Tuscaloosa.
“When I went to Alabama, it just felt right,” McDonald told On3. “The culture, the environment, it just all felt right. After the visit, after talking to my dad, it just hit me. Everything felt right. It felt I belonged at Alabama and it was the best place for me.”
After talking it over for a couple of days, McDonald officially decided on Wednesday, June 5. He called Georgia to let them know he would not be visiting this weekend. McDonald let Alabama know of his decision as well.
The No. 82 prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking officially put his name on Alabama’s commitment list. That visit propelled the Crimson Tide to the top of his list.
“Going into the Alabama visit, they were toward the bottom of my list. I was going on the visit to just hear them out and see what it was like. After the visit, Alabama moved to the top and I don’t think anyone could top that.
“The visit changed everything for me. I didn’t know what to expect, but I liked everything about it. The visit couldn’t have gone any better. I knew when I got there that it felt right, and when I left, I knew Alabama was the top school.
“The coaches, their experience, the culture and the environment there were some of the reasons I picked Alabama. It is different there. Alabama has that winning culture and they are going to keep that same standard.”
McDonald is excited about playing for the new Alabama staff
The only visit McDonald had made to Tuscaloosa prior to his official visit was when Nick Saban was still the head coach. As soon as Kalen DeBoer took over and put his staff together, Alabama picked right up recruiting McDonald at a high level.
Maurice Linguist was his lead recruiter and the new commit is excited to work with him in the coming years.
“Coach Mo recruited me hard, we have a good relationship, and on the visit, he had a great presentation for me,” McDonald said. “He really goes into great depth on everything he teaches. He used to be a head coach and you can see that with how he prepares and teaches. I like him a lot, my old teammate Zabien Brown loves him and I know he will teach me a lot.”
As excited as McDonald is to learn under Linguist, he is equally excited about playing for DeBoer.
“Coach DeBoer did what he did at Washington and he is just a winner. He will do good with all the resources at Alabama. To me, Coach DeBoer is going to win at every level. He is going to be great at Alabama and he will do great things there.”
Alabama is where McDonald wants to be
Alabama flipped the script. They got the No. 9 cornerback in the country on campus for 48 hours and the Crimson Tide went from third or fourth on his list to the top. He is excited about his future in Tuscaloosa.
“Alabama went hard after me, they made me feel like a priority and it felt like home,” McDonald said. “I felt comfortable. Coach Mo, coach Kane Wommack, coach DeBoer – all of them – they made me feel at home.
“I am surprised that it happened so fast and turned out this way, but I know this is how it was supposed to turn out. Everything felt real at Alabama. My feelings there confirmed my decision.
“I am going to Alabama, a place of greatness. If you want to be great and make it to the NFL, then Alabama is where you go. Everyone is competitive and they go hard. If you want to play with the best, go to Alabama and that is where I want to be.”