5 New Names In Alabama On My Radar

<p>Which new names in Alabama have caught my attention in the last few weeks? There are more than a few, but I tried to limit my list down to a couple. Keep an eye out for these guys as high school recruiting will start to ramp up again in the next several weeks. </p>   <p><strong><em>Tormon Laprade</em></strong> - 2024 - DB - Sidney Lanier</p>   <p>Laprade is a versatile, energetic defender with some of the height/weight/speed boxes checked to hold his own at the next level. He comes in at 5'11 175, but looks to have enough length in his arms to be pesky in coverage and hack away at the catch pocket. He is fluid in the hips and does a good job of accelerating to a spot and playing the football, whether that means him staying in phase as a CB or tracking down the ball as a safety. He is an active tackler who is not afraid to get his head in and make physical, downhill plays. He plays with max effort, flashing numerous clips on tape of him ranging all over the field to come away with a tackle or PBU. Laprade holds some small-school offers and looks to have the overall skillset to contribute at that level. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/tormonlaprade/status/1726296269377921114?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='800902' first='Lucas' last='Oakley'] </em></strong>- 2025 - LB - Brooks </p>   <p>Oakley is a long, athletic, active defender who made plays all over the field during his junior season. He comes in at 6'2 210 and has good enough speed to cover a lot of ground and clog up passing windows in coverage. However, his patience and technique as a tackler is what makes him stand out from the rest. He looks confident and calmly makes his way to the ball carrier. He does a good job of settling down to use his length, suddenness, and patience to make tacklers. He has decent bend and lateral agility, which makes him a candidate to flex down and rush off the edge once he fills out and adds some power to his pass rush. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LucasOakley20/status/1728903334260855136?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='317156' first='Hugh' last='Bodiford']</em></strong> - 2025 - OL - Auburn</p>   <p>Bodiford presents a rare blend of mass, power, and agility. Coming in at 6'3 325 as a junior, most prospects at this size are a little heavy-footed and awkward in their approach, but Bodiford looks natural and can get out into the open field and search for someone to block. Most of his tape shows him clearing out running lanes, which is what he should be recruited to do. He is strong and seems to understand leverage, bending at the hip to win the leverage battle against defensive linemen and driving them out of the way. He even took some snaps on defense, where he had some surprising twitch and finesse to his game. Bodiford is a real sleeper who should garner GO5 attention and may even get some PO5 PWO looks before all is said and done. He will upgrade the size and strength of any OL room at any level.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/hugh_bodiford/status/1726417585552392248?s=20https://x.com/hugh_bodiford/status/1726417585552392248?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='851332' first='Thaddeus' last='Merritt'] </em></strong>- 2025 - ATH - Alabama Christian Academy</p>   <p>Merrit is a stout 5'10 180 and contributes at both CB and WR, even without great length. He is a twitchy athlete who can break down defenders with quick footwork in tight areas. He doesn't possess elite breakaway speed, but he is explosive and sudden enough to create his own yards and compensate. On defense, he spends most of his time outside at corner. While he certainly holds his own, he projects best at nickel. He engages blockers aggressively and is a sound tackler, often aggressively tugging defenders to the turf. He shows good hands and ball skills at WR, but his tackling prowess and downhill playstyle should translate best to defense. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AndreMerritt_/status/1722040708754808838?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong><em>AJ Mitchell </em></strong>- 2026 - DB - Bob Jones </p>   <p>Mitchell is vastly uncovered and overlooked, but he possesses the athletic and football-specific traits to develop into a prospective athlete for colleges. He comes in at 5'10 150 with good overall athleticism. He has plenty of time and room to get bigger. He spends most of his time lined up outside at corner in off-man and zone coverage schemes. His route recognition is off the charts, squatting down at the top of the routes and reading the QBs eyes to jump the route. He had 2 pick-sixes this fall doing that. His length isn't off the charts, but he has good ball speed and instinctually gets his paws up to bat the football to the turf or to other teammates. He is savvy as a tackler and can generate some nice power upon contact for his frame. Due to his size and knack for coming downhill to play routes and ball carriers, AJ Mitchell projects long-term as a safety. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CJacksonPRZ/status/1745136496066089005?s=20 </div></figure>

Which new names in Alabama have caught my attention in the last few weeks? There are more than a few, but I tried to limit my list down to a couple. Keep an eye out for these guys as high school recruiting will start to ramp up again in the next several weeks.