Khalid Kareem commits to Alabama: Crimson Tide get four-star DE
Alabama picked up a commitment from four-star defensive end Khalid Kareem to give the Tide another dynamic player on their defensive line.
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The Crimson Tide picked up a major commitment on Wednesday as 2016 four-star defensive end Khalid Kareem (Farmington, MI. Harrison) committed to the program during a ceremony at his school, according to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.
He is the No. 185 player in his class, the No. 10 strong-side defensive end, and the No. 6 player in the state of Michigan per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Kareem was highly valued across the country, accumulating 37 offers in total, six of those within the SEC. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt all wanted him. Also worth noting is that he received offers from Harvard and Yale, two of the most prestigious Ivy League programs in the nation.
Bobby Williams who doubles as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach for Alabama was Kareem’s primary recruiter while outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi assumed the role of secondary recruiter.
With this commitment, the Crimson Tide 2016 recruiting class ranks No. 4 in the country and No. 2 in the SEC per the 247Sports team rankings. The program now boasts nine four-star commitments with the addition of Kareem.
“At the end of the day it just felt right,” Kareem said through his father Ken Kareem to 247Sports. “It felt comfortable, it felt like home with the coaching staff. I also feel like I’ll have a great opportunity to get playing time early and get coached by one of the best coaching staffs in the country.”
In watching his highlights, I noticed a couple of things. He was not the fastest player to the ball, but he compensated for it with his instincts. In addition, he was able to fill the gaps during the play and acted as secondary help for when the first defender could not make the tackle. He also showed that he was a very solid tackler probably partly due to his 6-foot-4, 260-pound frame and did not miss a tackle in the highlights I saw.
He will certainly give some stability to the Alabama defensive line and should be able to make a valuable contribution to the program.
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