Alabama football’s red-hot recruiting run in March continued on Wednesday with its highest-ranked commitment to date in the 2025 class.
Four-star athlete Darrell “Duke” Johnson, the No. 28 player in 2025 according to the 247Sports Composite, committed to Alabama via the 247Sports YouTube channel.
Johnson, who is 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, is listed as a linebacker via 247Sports and an athlete via On3. He plays primarily defensive back at Dodge County (Ga.) High, in addition to some quarterback and running back. However, Johnson is a projected linebacker at Alabama. He joins four-stars Derick Smith, Zymear Smith and Antonio Coleman as Alabama commitments during March.
Alabama has six commitments in its 2025 class, all four-star recruits.
Just in— 4-star Darrell “Duke” Johnson has committed to #Alabama. Athlete or linebacker depending where you look but a consensus Top 50 player nationally.
Big win by Kane Wommack and the defensive staff to get him out of Georgia.
That’s 4 commitments in March for Alabama.
— Kennington Lloyd Smith III (@SkinnyKenny_) March 20, 2024
What does Johnson’s commitment mean for Alabama?
Johnson’s been on Alabama’s radar dating back to summer 2023 when he was offered by Nick Saban’s staff. Johnson was re-offered by Kalen DeBoer’s new staff and was quickly made a priority by defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach Kane Wommack and secondary coach/co-defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler. Johnson made an unofficial visit on March 6 to observe practice under the new staff, which made a big enough impression for Johnson to commit just two weeks later.
From a personnel standpoint, Alabama will likely lose three inside linebackers after this season: starters Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell and senior Justin Jefferson. The Tide took four inside linebackers in the 2024 class and are continuing to accumulate talent with a top-30 national prospect in Johnson. Johnson will need to add considerable weight to play linebacker, but if that process doesn’t pan out he could continue to play defensive back at Alabama. Either way, adding an elite athlete to the defensive side of the ball is a plus for the new staff on that side.
It marks the first 2025 commitment for Alabama in Georgia, a fertile recruiting ground for the Tide. Four of Alabama’s six 2025 commits are from in-state. Adding Johnson into the fold is a strong, early win for DeBoer’s staff as it will need to secure talent from around the Southeast to continue Alabama’s strong recruiting history.
