What Kalen DeBoer said about Alabama's three DB signees
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama signed three defensive backs on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, and head coach Kalen DeBoer said he loves the secondary haul.
The Crimson Tide added three top-100 players to its 2025 roster with cornerbacks Dijon Lee and Chuck McDonald and safety Ivan Taylor sending their letters of intent to Tuscaloosa. The trio were at the top of Alabama’s priority list when it came to DB recruiting this class.
“You hone in on some guys, and these are the guys,” DeBoer said. “These are the guys that were priorities from the beginning. … These are just extremely high-character guys that just get after it.
“Excited about what they’re all going to do together to add to the group of guys that we have in our program. Again, that’s a position that was short in numbers this year. They held it together throughout the year in different ways. I’m proud of that group, and these guys are going to come in and really add to it.”
Lee was the highest-rated of the three and one of three 5-star recruits who signed with the Tide during the early period. The 6-foot-3, 187-pound cornerback from Mission Viejo, California is the No. 23 overall player in the 2025 class, per the On3 Industry Rankings, and was someone the coaches who came over from Washington had forged a relationship with.
“Going back two years and just going through this journey with him and now really a new journey beginning,” DeBoer said of Lee. “Just length. He’s brought a physicality on another level, a confidence on another level. He’s got that ‘it’.”
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McDonald was another cornerback who committed to the Tide, and he is the latest to do so from Mater Dei High School in California. Alabama’s starting cornerbacks went there, and McDonald makes it three. The 6-foot, 185-pound high school senior was rated as the No. 76 overall player in the 2025 class and the No. 12 cornerback – Lee was ranked No. 4.
“Coming from a great program,” DeBoer said of McDonald. “Chuck actually came here to a camp before we were here, so there was some familiarity with him and Alabama. But also, we were well aware of who he was and just guys who have an attack mindset there.”
Taylor is Alabama’s most recent commitment and signed with the Tide after being committed to Notre Dame and then Michigan. The 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back was rated the No. 65 overall player and No. 7 safety in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. A late flip, Alabama never gave up on the Florida native despite his prior pledges.
“That was one where we just stayed the course with the relationship building and really felt in our heart that this was a great fit for him,” DeBoer said of Taylor. “Just trying to stay with him, continuing to grow and then him really seeing it, too, the meshing of what he wanted, what he was looking for and what we were, just a great fit.”
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