Alabama Football: 5 Tide 2019 signees who’ll have instant impacts

1. Antonio Alfano (SDE/Colonia, NJ) – 5 Stars

Five-star defensive end Antonio Alfano is the crown jewel of Alabama’s recruiting class. The Colonia, NJ native is ranked No. 5 overall in the 247 composites, with 247 ranking him as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in their final update.

Alfano looked the part throughout the All-Star circuits, dominating at the Army All-American Bowl in January. Alfano wanted to come to Tuscaloosa to compete against the best, as well as diving in head-first into Scott Cochran’s legendary strength-and-conditioning-program.

Early returns have been nothing but positive on Alfano as an early enrolle; he’s put his head down and worked hard over his first month with Alabama, positioning himself for early playing time as a true freshman in 2019.

Alabama lacked quality depth on the defensive line this past season, and must replace two starters up front with Isaiah Buggs exhausting his eligibility and Quinnen Williams declaring for the draft. Rising senior Raekwon Davis is the lone returning starter, but behind him Alabama’s depth is unproven.

Rising juniors LaBryan Ray and Phidarian Mathis have played well in supporting roles, and they’re the two likeliest candidates to start in 2019, but after them the cupboard is bare, opening up the door for Alfano and others to crack the two-deep and become a part of Alabama’s defensive line rotation.

Alabama sorely needed a strong class of defensive linemen, and Saban delivered by bringing in eight prospects rated four-stars or better to fill out the depth chart.

Saban will likely call on three or four of those players to play meaningful snaps as true freshmen, and Alfano looks like a slam dunk to be one of them.