Multiple Alabama signees to attend Alabama's A-Day Game
This upcoming weekend, Alabama’s football staff will roll out the red carpet to several top-100 commitments and targets. Bama’s spring game on Saturday is not only attracting some of the nation’s top recruits, but it will also be attended by multiple Crimson Tide signees from the Class of 2023.
Alabama Football: Most intriguing recruits attending A-Day
BamaInsider has confirmed that five-star EDGE signees Keon Keeley and Yhonzae Pierre will be in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Scholarship kicker signee Conor Talty will also be in town for the spring game. It is not yet known if Richard Young, the No. 4 running back in the 2023 class, is visiting or not.
Keeley has been a regular on Alabama’s campus over the past couple of months. As BamaInsider reported in February, Keeley had a procedure done on his left shoulder on Feb. 14. That procedure took place in Birmingham. As such, the highly skilled pass rusher has returned on multiple occasions for rehab, and has stopped by Tuscaloosa each time.
Keeley, Pierre, and Talty are a part of an Alabama class that finished No. 1 on the 2023 On3 Industry Rankings. All in all, Nick Saban‘s staff signed seven five-star recruits, as well as the nation’s top two players in the JUCO ranks. BamaInsider’s Clint Lamb recently wrote about five of Alabama’s new arrivals who are generating the most buzz.
Alabama football: Five new arrivals generating buzz this spring
Why Keeley, Pierre, and Talty chose Alabama
Keon Keeley went through a long recruiting process.
The Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep prospect committed to Notre Dame in June 2021. Just over a year later, he opened his recruiting process on Aug. 17, 2022. Then, visits to Alabama (two times), Florida, and Ohio State (two times) were all taken. In the end, the Crimson Tide won out for Keeley by landing his pledge on Dec. 12.
“Alabama is Alabama. I think it speaks for itself,” Keeley told On3 Sports’ Mike Singer after a January All-American Bowl practice in San Antonio (Tx.). “What they do on and off the field with their football players and people who come in… their dreams come true. I want to be a part of it. I feel like Alabama is a great place to be.
“You get pushed by the best,” Keeley continued. “Any goal I want to accomplish and any goals a football player wants to accomplish, you can accomplish it all at Alabama. Education- and football-wise, I like it.”
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As for Pierre, his process was more straightforward. The Eufaula (Ala.) pass rusher took some visits, narrowed his recruitment to eight schools in January 2022, and then committed to Alabama on April 14. Pierre did not take visits to any other program besides Bama following his commitment.
“Bama is the perfect fit for me,” Pierre told On3’s Charles Power in January. “It’s going to put me where I need to be academic-wise, football-wise, and as being a man overall. Good relationships with the coaches and good environment with the players.”
“It’s going to be pretty good,” Pierre said of the tandem with him and Keeley. “Him on one end and me on the other end, and we’ve got Qua Russaw at linebacker. James Smith, too. It’s going to be really crazy for the 2023 class and we’re ready to put on.”
As for Talty, Alabama dished out an offer to the Illinois-based kicker on July 18 of last year. Two days later, Talty joined Bama’s 2023 class. Like Pierre, Talty didn’t entertain any other options after committing, including an SEC East program.
“I had a couple of schools reach out after I committed, like Wake Forest and Tennessee,” Talty told BamaInsider last November. “I thanked them formally and let them know I was solid with my decision. I’m still on Tennessee’s mailing list, though, but everything I get goes straight to the shredder.”
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