Running back Emmanuel Henderson announced his commitment to Alabama on Saturday, choosing Crimson Tide over offers from some of the nation’s biggest shows, including Auburn, Georgia, Clemson and others.
Henderson, a six-foot-six-pound boy who dropped out of Geneva County High School in Hartford, Alabama, is the 12th recruit in the ESPN Junior 300 overall ranking.
He is the best-ranked running back in the class and continues a series of successful recruitment in the position for Crimson Tide, who has signed five running backs ranked in the top 10 of the position in the last three classes. If Henderson signs with Alabama in December or February, he would do six in four classes.
He is Alabama’s third appointment with the ESPN 300 in the 2022 class, joining Tennessee quarterback Ty Simpson, the 27th general recruit, and linebacker Robert Woodyard, the 88th general prospective.
Alabama is currently behind the state of Ohio, Penn State, LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, Texas A&M and Notre Dame in ESPN 300 commitments in this class. However, Crimson Tide had a high turnover in this off-season, with Steve Sarkisian, Jeff Banks and Kyle Flood going to Texas and Charles Huff taking over as head coach in Marshall.
Given these team changes and the downtime due to COVID-19, it is not uncommon for Alabama’s recruitment to be delayed compared to what was historically at this time.