Recruits share reactions to Alabama's 20-19 win over Texas
Alabama’s football team survived a nail-biter in Austin (Tx.) on Saturday. Behind a masterful final drive led by Bryce Young, the Crimson Tide connected on a 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining to beat the Texas Longhorns 20-19.
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This highly anticipated matchup was taken in by some of the top recruits in the 2023 and 2024 classes. BamaInsider caught up with some of these prospects to gather their reactions to this close win for Alabama.
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Commitments react to Alabama’s narrow victory
As expected, Crimson Tide commitments in both classes were tuned in for their future team’s first road game of the season. Wilkin Formby, a Tuscaloosa area native who committed to Alabama on June 20, had a simple eight-word response to Bama’s victory.
“Just glad they came out with a win,” Formby said.
Alabama was plagued by penalties, poor play on both sides of the ball, and an inability to put Texas down despite them losing their starting quarterback, Quinn Ewers. There were, however, still some positives to take away from this win.
Cole Adams, a four-star 2023 wide receiver committed to Alabama, focused on the bright side in his response.
“No matter the situation, no matter the score or the time on the clock, your body language can decide the last couple of possessions of the game!” Adams said. “And that’s what happened today. Everything is not always going to go your way. That’s football. What matters is how you come back and keep fighting! RTR!”
Borderline 5-star 2024 athlete Jaylen Mbakwe took notice of the abundance of penalties, calling the performance “undisciplined.” He did later follow up with a positive outlook about his future program.
“It showed me I committed to the right school because I want to be around guys that are going to fight til the end,” Mbakwe said.
For reactions from more Tide commitments, including Miles McVay and Ty Lockwood, click HERE!
Targets talk Bama’s win: “Bryce Young is still that man.”
As for Alabama’s uncommitted targets, 2023 prospects were hard to reach since a few key players were visiting elsewhere. We did, however, get to catch up with one of the staff’s top targets on offense, Jaren Hamilton.
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“Crazy game,” Hamilton said. “Bama’s chemistry and them figuring out who’s going to be their go-to players are still developing. But the fight and resilience is still there. Bryce Young is still that man.”
BamaInsider also gathered reactions from some of the nation’s top junior prospects. One of them was Sammy Brown, the second-ranked linebacker in the 2024 class.
“Definitely a closer game than everyone thought,” Brown said. “Maybe a little bit of bad blood in there, but nonetheless a great way to pull out at the end and get a W in the end.”
Bryce Young, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, was far from perfect on Saturday. He finished with 27 completions on 39 attempts for 213 yards and a touchdown, as well as 38 yards on seven carries.
Young did step up for Alabama when it mattered, with elite quarterback Julian Sayin having high praise for him.
“I thought Bryce played extremely well and got it done for them,” Sayin said. “Had to overcome all those penalties but locked in when it counted.”
We connected with several other Alabama targets, including top-40 overall prospect KingJoseph Edwards. Click HERE to read reactions from him and other 2024 targets.
