Decision Day: Will Alabama land elite 2023 WR Jalen Hale?
For the second time in three days, the Alabama Crimson Tide are looking to dip into Texas and earn a commitment from one of the state’s top senior prospects. After landing Jordan Renaud on Monday, the program is patiently awaiting the decision of Longview (Tx.) product Jalen Hale this afternoon.
Hale has been in the recruiting process for a long time, earning his first offer (Arkansas) as a freshman in April 2020. The sought-after wide receiver has narrowed his final group to four schools ahead of his Wednesday commitment.
Here are the details for Hale’s announcement, as well as an assessment of where he is trending.
Commitment Date: Sept. 21
Finalists: Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and Texas A&M
Time: 1:00 p.m. Central/2:00 p.m. Eastern
How Hale will announce: Watch Hale’s decision on the Texarkana/Longview Gameday YouTube channel or their Facebook page
Discussion: Talk of Champions Message Board
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Who is trending for Jalen Hale ahead of his decision?
Jalen Hale’s recruitment has been an interesting ride over the past couple of months.
In July, all the momentum was with the in-state Texas Longhorns. Part of that was due to their recent commitments of Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Arch Manning and Johntay Cook, a close friend of Hale’s. Hale was even using the word “we” in reference to Texas during an interview in the summer.
Since that interview on July 15, however, Alabama has made up significant ground.
The program hosted him on campus on July 30 before the August dead period began. Hale then returned to Tuscaloosa for an official visit the weekend after the dead period concluded. He got to see Alabama take on Utah State on Sept. 3, then saw them live once again when they played Texas a week later.
Hours away from his commitment, one school has seized all the momentum for Hale.
Per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Tide have an 85.4 percent chance of landing Hale. That is fueled by six On3 expert predictions that have been submitted in favor of Bama on his profile, the first of which being from Jeremy Johnson on Aug. 1.
Less than two weeks ago, BamaInsider had a chance to speak with Hale about his high interest in Alabama. Hale, who was offered by the Tide in March 2021, is drawn to the program’s production of receivers.
ICYMI: Elite WR Jalen Hale talks Crimson Tide interest, calls Alabama “Receiver U”
“You know what they do with receivers,” Hale said of why Bama is in his final group. “The coaches and the relationships they’ve built with me. Also, how they treat me… To me, I look at Bama as ‘Receiver U.’”
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Hale also had nothing but positive things to say about his Alabama official visit earlier this month.
“I enjoyed it,” Hale said. “It’s what I expected when I went. Good game, good crowd, and good people. Everything was good. When I was tuned into the game, I was seeing how they were using their receivers. They moved their receivers around and told me I was a fit.”
If Alabama lands Hale today, then they’re getting one of the top wideouts in the 2023 class. The On3 Consensus labels Jalen Hale the No. 10 wide receiver in this recruiting cycle. He also checks in as the No. 53 player overall, as well as the tenth-ranked senior in Texas.
Alabama currently has 22 commitments in its 2023 class. That ranks No. 1 nationally per the 2023 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings. Stay tuned to BamaInsider on Wednesday afternoon to see if the Crimson Tide will land commit No. 23.
