Nick Saban reveals importance of signing legacy recruit Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.

Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. is going to play for Alabama next season. Rounding out Saban’s 17th season as head coach, Kirkpatrick is the first legacy recruit to ever play for Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa.

His father, Dre Kirkpatrick Sr., played for Saban from 2009-2011 before turning pro and eventually becoming a first-round draft choice. He’s retired from the league now — but his son, a fellow defensive back, is just getting started.

“I think that’s the first legacy for Alabama,” Saban said during his signing day press conference. “Not necessarily the first legacy for me. I coached Mark Ingram‘s dad at Michigan State — but the first generational legacy player that played for us at Alabama and now has a son playing here. I think it’s great.

“His dad has been a really good ambassador for the program, was a great player here and had a great NFL career. You really appreciate that part of it, but I know how proud he is of his son and what his son has been able to accomplish as his son has an opportunity to come to Alabama.”

Kirkpatrick Jr. comes to Alabama as a three-star recruit, according to the 2024 On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He’s the No. 74 safety in the country and No. 34 player out of Alabama.

While he’s not as highly-touted out of high school as his father — a five-star recruit — was, but Saban believes he fits the Crimson Tide mold just perfectly despite the ranking next to his name.

“They’re different people. They’re both good people and [have] great family,” Saban continued. “I don’t like to make comparisons, I don’t think that’s fair. But, Little Dre is a mature guy that kind of knows what he wants. He’s a very competitive guy and his dad was, too. He had a lot of those same characteristics and that’s why he became the kind of player that he was.”

Saban said that over a dozen of the recruits in his 2024 recruiting class will be on campus next month for offseason training and eventually spring practice. It’s unsure whether Kirkpatrick Jr. will be in that group, but it would be the perfect head start for a player with the name recognition and something to prove as a three-star recruit coming in.

Alabama finished signing day with the No. 2-rated recruiting class in the nation, second only to Georgia. Only six of the Crimson Tide’s recruits are three-stars, meaning Kirkpatrick Jr’s opportunity is not being taken likely by Saban and the rest of the staff. At some point, they’re hoping he can contribute to the team in some capacity — whether that be in a similar fashion to his father or not.