Alabama football scored a huge recruiting win on Sunday. The Crimson Tide received a five-star commitment from Xavier Griffin, one of top linebackers in the 2026 class.
Griffin announced his commitment to the Tide over offers from most of the nation’s top schools, including Florida State, Texas, Ohio State and Georgia. He plays his high school football at Gainesville in Georgia.
Sunday’s commitment was the second linebacker to join Alabama’s class. Zay Hall, a three-star prospect from Tuscaloosa announced his commitment on Friday.
Griffin was rated as the 247Sports composite’s No. 2 linebacker in the 2026 class. The service itself ranks him at No. 1.
247Sports compared Griffin to former Alabama star Jihaad Campbell.
“Multi-faceted defender with a top-flight testing profile that should offer both on- and off-ball linebacker as he can rush the passer and stack against the run while also dropping back into coverage,” 247 director of scouting Andrew Ivins wrote in his assessment of Griffin. “Lanky and lean at this stage, but should undergo a major physical transformation in the coming years as he’s on the younger side for the grade and equipped with larger features.
“Fires out of both a two- and three-point stance in the blink of an eye and will get around obstacles with his slick agility and lateral quickness. Possess true sideline-to-sideline range and will make stops in pursuit with his gap-closing burst.”
The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Griffin visited Alabama in June. He became the second 247 composite five-star prospect to join the class, following Jorden Edmonds, a cornerback, also from Georgia.
Griffin finished his junior year with 43 total tackles for Gainesville, according to MaxPreps. That included 29 solo tackles and six sacks.
