Alabama’s push for Monshun Sales is looking more and more like it’s running out of road.
For much of this recruiting cycle, the 5-star wide receiver from Alabama seemed like the kind of target the Crimson Tide could actually close on. He grew up a fan, carries the nickname “Bama,” and last fall Alabama looked to have a real edge in his recruitment. With the way Kalen DeBoer’s 2025 and 2026 classes had gone, Sales felt close to a clean win for a staff that had made him a priority.
That picture changed in the spring. Alabama slipped some, then surged back after what was described as an excellent visit that pushed the race into a tight battle with Indiana. But as Sales gets closer to making his choice, the momentum appears to have swung away from Tuscaloosa.
According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, Alabama is no longer in the top two.
“Sources have indicated Texas is in the top-two with Indiana” @SWiltfong_ says Texas has made a major push this summer for 5-star WR Monshun Sales 🤘 pic.twitter.com/BOJc0XAJZW
- Josh Newberg (@josh_newberg) July 8, 2026
For most of the process, this looked like an Alabama-Indiana fight. The Hoosiers have the home-state advantage for Sales and the kind of momentum that comes with winning the National Championship. But Texas has surged hard, and getting the last official visit with Sales may have given the Longhorns the opening they needed.
That would be a brutal outcome for Alabama, especially after a recruiting cycle that has already been rough in ways Crimson Tide fans are not used to seeing. DeBoer’s staff has taken several major swings and missed on names like Hayden Stepp, Mitchell Turner, Kenneth Simon, and Colt Lumpris.
Sales would be another painful miss, and one that seems tied to NIL as much as anything else. Indiana has made him a major priority and, with billionaire booster Mark Cuban backing the effort, is prepared to put together a massive offer to keep him home. Texas, meanwhile, has one of the biggest checkbooks in the sport and usually doesn’t get outbid.
Sales is expected to decide sometime this month, and at this point it does not look like Alabama will be the pick. The blow would be softened somewhat by Alabama’s addition of 4-star, Top 50 overall WR Osani Gayles, who gives the Tide a strong headliner at the position.
Still, Sales was the kind of recruit Alabama once looked set to land. If he ends up elsewhere, it will be one more reminder of how many of these battles have slipped away.
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