Monshun Sales' Indiana commitment is another red flag in an alarming Alabama recruiting cycle

2nd place, 1st place, 2nd place, 1st place, and 2nd place. Those aren't the finishes for Tiger Woods in the early 2000's majors or results from Usain Bolt, but where Nick Saban's final 5 recruiting classes at Alabama. While everyone points to Nick Saban's incredible in-game coaching or his track record of development, all of his success started on the recruiting trail.

The biggest impact Nick Saban had at Alabama was turning the Crimson Tide into a program that recruited nationally, landing players like Tua Tagovailoa from Hawaii or Bryce Young from California, and even dipping into the Northeast for players.

Every year, Alabama seemed guaranteed to finish in the top 3 of the recruiting rankings, as it would take his former protégé Kirby Smart emerging at Georgia or Jimbo Fisher spending big to beat Nick Saban. The trend carried into the start of the Kalen DeBoer era, but in this current recruiting cycle, there's a reason to be concerned if you're an Alabama fan.

Monshun Sales picking Indiana highlights Alabama's recent recruiting woes

On Friday Afternoon, the Nation's top ranked wide receiver recruit Monshun Sales announced his commitment on The Pat McAfee Show, picking the Indiana Hoosiers over Alabama, Texas, LSU, and Ohio State.

Missing out on Monshun Sales feels like the biggest misstep of the Kalen DeBoer era, as this is a kid who should be set to play for Alabama. Sales grew up in the Yellowhammer State and even had the nickname "Bama" growing up. For most of this recruitment, this was a battle between Alabama and Indiana, and missing out on the 5-star could end up haunting the Crimson Tide.

Alabama fans will point to Indiana landing Monshun Sales as the Hoosiers outspending them as if it's a negative thing. The fact of the matter is every program is spending big on building a roster, and if Alabama doesn't want to spend the money or doesn't have the money to spend, they'll be left behind. When you look at how every class stacks up, it's clear that Alabama is trending in the wrong direction.

According to Rivals' Industry Recruiting Rankings, Alabama's recruiting class currently ranks 32nd in the Country. The Crimson Tide are currently trailing schools like Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and Georgia Tech which would've seemed impossible years ago.

While Kalen DeBoer admitted this was going to be a smaller recruiting class for the Crimson Tide, the lack of quality is the part most won't understand. The Crimson Tide have just 1 5-star recruit and 3 4-stars, with 10 3-stars making up their class. The coaching staffs around the country will all say they ignore the rankings, but it's genuinely shocking to see how few blue-chip recruits are heading to Tuscaloosa.

In the end, this may be the new strategy for Alabama, and betting on transfers may prove to be more impactful for the Crimson Tide. The flip side to that case would be programs like Florida State and Colorado who have seen just how quickly your luck can change from good to bad in the Transfer Portal.

The Nick Saban era isn't coming back to Tuscaloosa, and neither are the Pre-NIL days where the Alabama factor outweighed any other program. Kalen DeBoer and his staff are going to need to find a way to adapt and thrive in this modern era; otherwise, it may end up proving costly down the line.

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