Alabama might be losing its charm for some high school prospects. That starry-eyed factor has lessened a bit with the new change of hands at the helm. As a result, Kalen DeBoer will probably be losing out on a star prospect of the 2026 class. He came close to landing him, since the player is an in-state target, making him more important for the Tide. However, an insider predicts that this one will not be a win for Kalen DeBoer.

5-star EDGE Anthony ‘Tank’ Jones is set to announce his commitment on The Pat McAfee Show on July 31. The main contenders vying for him are Oregon, Texas A&M, and Alabama. Kalen DeBoer and Co. should have been well in contention to be the winner here, since Jones is an Alabama native. However, it doesn’t seem like that will be happening anymore. The elite prospect will most likely head out of state for his collegiate career.

247Sports’ Tom Loy predicts that Alabama’s hold is slipping on Jones. He also had Miami and Auburn in contention, but they dropped out as well. What looked like a 3-way battle can now really be just a 2-way fight. The Tide could jump up the ranks of the 2026 class if Jones picked Alabama, becoming the 6 5-star recruit in their 2026 class.

Alabama was the last official visit on the itinerary for Jones. He had a lot of praise for the program after the visit, which is what made the Tide a favorite to land him. “On this visit, I loved the brotherhood that I saw at Alabama. The relationships I have with the staff is something else I like a lot. How I fit into the scheme and their plan for me is something else that stands out at Alabama,” he said. Alabama currently sits at the No. 6 best class in the 2026 cycle, which also includes the best in-state recruits. This should have resulted in Jones also being part of this trend, but it looks like he will either go across the country to Oregon, to nearby Texas.

However, this is not the first time the Ducks have made away quietly with the top Alabama target. Can Oregon be successful in pulling off this upset once again?

Oregon planning surprise attack on Kalen DeBoer once again?

Kalen DeBoer might have had a bad start to the 2024 season. But he surely did not have a bad recruiting result. In fact, Alabama will be debuting a top-5 class this year. However, DeBoer could only convince 2 in-state recruits to choose the Tide. That’s why losing Jones could be a bad rep for the HC, because he is the top Alabama prospect after all. However, now that Oregon has made it this far into his recruiting campaign, they could deploy an under-the-wraps operation to swing Jones over.

In the last cycle, Dan Lanning and Co. pulled this off by recruiting Na’eem Offord, who was then Alabama’s top in-state prospect. He committed to Ohio State initially, but Oregon was able to flip him from Columbus to Eugene. Dan Lanning has already seen multiple visits from Anthony Jones. And, he will have the help of star recruiter Tosh Lupoi. “I personally have talked more about Alabama and Texas A&M during this process, but as a decision draws near I have a keen eye on Oregon as well,” Steve Wiltfong said of Jones’ impending commitment.

Kalen DeBoer might not be in grave danger if Alabama loses Jones. But not being able to retain the best in-state player does turn up badly on the HC’s resume. On the other hand, Oregon could desperately use this recruiting win, after taking some damaging hits in the cycle these past months. Who will this star defensive prospect pick?