Kalen DeBoer and Alabama kept their 2027 recruiting class moving Monday, adding another in-state piece to a cycle that has stayed relatively small by design.
Oxford native Xavier Endicott announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide after spending the weekend in Tuscaloosa for the Texas A&M game. Alabama now has 16 commitments in the class.
Endicott checks in at 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, and Alabama views him as a center. He was recently offered by the Tide, and once the process picked up, it moved quickly. He remains unranked on the major recruiting sites, but Alabama clearly sees room for him to grow into a useful player down the line.
The 247 page for Endicott lists Murray State as his only other offer, which makes the Alabama move stand out even more. Part of that comes from how late he has developed physically. He was listed at 240 pounds entering his senior year at Oxford and has since climbed to 280.
The tape gives Alabama reason to believe there’s more here than just size. His athletic ability stands out, and that matters in DeBoer and Ryan Grubb’s run scheme, where movement at center is a must.
Racin Delgatty has that trait, and Alabama’s rushing attack has missed him over the last two games. Mal Waldrep does not bring the same athletic profile.
Endicott is not expected to walk in and solve anything right away. He is the kind of prospect who will need time and development before he’s ready for meaningful snaps. But that’s the kind of bet Alabama can afford to make, especially with scholarship limits now up to 105.
In that space, the Crimson Tide can afford to take chances on under-recruited players, especially ones from nearby. Endicott fits that mold: a local lineman with solid film from a major Alabama high school and the kind of upside that made Alabama move aggressively.
He joins fellow in-state lineman Stafford Willis out of Arab in the class.
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