It’s not often a player can be called a Fast Riser when he’s already sitting near the top of the state’s prospect board, but Ramsay defensive lineman Karlos May has pushed himself into that rare space anyway.
The Ohio State commit made his presence felt Thursday night in Ramsay’s 18-7 win over Calera, a result that moved the Rams to 4-1. May delivered the game’s biggest swing when he took a teammate’s strip sack and raced 50 yards for a fumble return touchdown. At 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, the senior known as “Big Los” was never threatened from behind on the way to the end zone.
May has been a fixture in Best in Bama, AL.com’s statewide rankings of the top high school football prospects regardless of classification or graduating class. He is currently No. 4, which also makes him the highest-ranked lineman in Alabama, narrowly ahead of Thompson defensive end and Oregon commit Cam Pritchett.
There’s also movement worth tracking among three players who finished last season at the top of those rankings.
In Alabama’s win over Florida State, CD Morgan of Benjamin Russell High School hauled in his first catch and scored his first touchdown. EJ Crowell, out of Jackson High School, found the end zone for the third game in a row to open his college career.
Meanwhile, DeShawn Spencer of Saraland High School caught a touchdown pass for the second straight game in Auburn’s loss to Florida.
Crowell finished No. 1 in last year’s final Best in Bama rankings, with Morgan at No. 4 and Spencer at No. 7. Spencer had been committed to Duke and was largely flying under the radar with college recruiters until Alex Golesh arrived at Auburn and offered him a scholarship to the player who was the definition of Fast Riser a year ago.
Golesh was one of the few coaches who saw it coming and likely would have flipped Spencer to South Florida if he had not taken the Auburn job.
The next Best in Bama weekly update arrives Thursday, and it will include a pair of huge prospects climbing the board.
In Other News...
Auburn Fans Wont Love How Alex Golesh Framed The Vanderbilt Game
Auburn is still trying to find its footing in the SEC, and Alex Golesh is approaching Week 4 like a coach focused on the long view rather than a single alarm bell. He said the matchup with Vanderbilt is not a must-win, instead stressing preparation, consistency and the process of building the program the right way. Golesh also pointed to the Tigers recent defensive issues as an area that has to improve if this team is going to settle in and compete the way it wants to.
That framing may not sit well with a fan base that is already anxious about the early-season picture, especially with Vanderbilt entering unbeaten and working with a new starting quarterback. Auburn does not have the luxury of ignoring the stakes in conference play, and the game offers another test of whether the Tigers can tighten up on defense and show real progress in a league that rarely gives anyone much room to breathe. [Read more 🡒]
Byrum Brown Is Fueling Auburns Biggest Early Season Debate
Byrum Brown has quickly become one of the biggest reasons Auburn has stayed interesting through the first few weeks of the season. Entering Week 4, he ranks fourth in the SEC in passing yards with 756, while also adding 180 yards on the ground, and his production has come with a little bit of everything attached. He has thrown five touchdowns and four interceptions, and Auburn has leaned on a receiving group that includes transfers from USF and a true freshman as it tries to sort out its offensive identity.
The bigger question around Brown is how much of Auburns early offense should run through him while the rushing attack continues to struggle. He has already delivered in key moments, including a notable game against Florida in which he accounted for multiple touchdowns, and that kind of playmaking can change how the Tigers approach every week. For Auburn, the debate now is not whether Brown matters, but how far his arm and legs can carry an offense still looking for more balance. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Have Every Reason To Fear This Scheduling Trend
The cancellation of Georgias home-and-home with Clemson is another reminder that even the most appealing non-conference matchups are fragile these days, and Auburn fans have reason to keep an eye on that trend. For a program that has tried to build real interest around its future schedule, the Tigers have leaned into premium series with Notre Dame in 2027 and 2028 and Miami in 2029 and 2030, giving supporters a rare chance to plan for marquee road trips and meaningful early-season tests.
The concern is bigger than one series disappearing. Across the sport, more teams are backing away from challenging non-conference games in favor of easier paths, and that can leave schools like Auburn trying to hold up their end of the bargain while the rest of the landscape shifts around them. If these kinds of cancellations keep piling up, it wont just affect the quality of the schedule. It could also trim away some of the travel opportunities and atmosphere that make those future Auburn matchups feel worth circling. [Read more 🡒]