Decision Preview: Alabama or Miami for 4-star OL Olaus Alinen?
Decision day is right around the corner for one of the top uncommitted offensive linemen in the nation. Olaus Alinen, a 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive tackle, will announce his commitment on Friday morning.
The product of the Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut is down to five finalists heading into his anticipated announcement. Each of the programs remaining for Alinen hosted him and his family on campus for official visits in June.
Here are the details for Alinen’s announcement, as well as an assessment of where he is trending.
Date: July 22
Finalists: Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon
Time: 8:00 a.m. CST
Watch: CBS Sports HQ/Alinen’s Instagram (Username: olausalinen)
Discussion: BamaOn3 Board
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Who is leading for Olaus Alinen?
It’s been an interesting ride following Olaus Alinen’s recruitment the past few weeks.
He entered June appearing to be an Alabama lean based on all the intel gathered by that point. Then, once his officials wrapped up, momentum started to build up in the Miami Hurricanes’ favor.
That led to several On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine picks being submitted last week for Alinen to land at Miami.
On Sunday, however, BamaOn3‘s Joseph Hastings put in a prediction for Alinen to commit to Alabama. Since then, a trio of picks have been put in in favor of the Crimson Tide earning a commitment from the Finland native.
At this time, the On3 RPM views Alabama as the heavy favorite in Alinen’s recruitment. Per the RPM, the Crimson Tide have a 71.9 percent chance of adding Alinen to the fold, while Miami has a 21.6 percent chance.
In his Simmons Scoop video on Wednesday, On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons talked about Alinen’s recruitment. He currently has a prediction in for Miami to land Alinen, but noted that the Crimson Tide did make up ground recently.
“But Alabama, I’ve heard some intel, made a big move over the weekend,” Simmons said. “This race is kind of too close to call right now. I’ve been told Alabama, Miami are neck-and-neck and not to sleep on Ohio State. But right now, I still ride with Miami and we’ll see how this plays out in the coming days.”
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BamaOn3 had a chance to speak with Alinen last Friday at the Under Armour Future 50 media session.
Alinen told us that Alabama’s message down the stretch has been about long-term goals, such as being a first-round pick and earning a second NFL contract. He also had high praise for how the program has operated during Nick Saban’s tenure.
“They’ve been in my recruitment a long time,” Alinen said. “Showing love. The program is really good. It’s kind of the standard that’s been in college football for now. You’re going to get the best there.”
If the Crimson Tide do land Alinen, they’d be getting the No. 11 offensive tackle on the 2023 On3 Consensus. Alinen also checks in as the No. 120 player overall, as well as the top-ranked rising senior in Connecticut.
Alabama currently has 13 commitments in its 2023 class, which ranks No. 4 nationally per the 2023 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings. Stay tuned on Friday morning to see if the Crimson Tide can land commit No. 14.
