Christian Leary describes what led to his sudden Alabama commitment
Moments after announcing his commitment to Alabama on Tuesday night, Christian Leary turned to his mother.
“I actually did it,” he said, tears in his eyes, filled with equal parts excitement and exhaustion.
The past year hasn’t been easy on Leary and neither was his recruiting process. The four-star athlete labored over his college choice, pushing back his originally-planned June 6 commitment date to give him additional time to make up his mind. It was exactly the kind of decision he would have discussed with his longtime coach Curtis Killings.
“I see it now,” Leary imagined. “We’d probably go down to the corner store, get a couple of Polar Pops and some peanut butter cookies. Then we’d just sit and talk.
“He would probably say, ‘You can go anywhere in the country, but you’ve got to do what’s best for you.’ He always knew I could play anywhere, and he told me to find what’s best for me. I think I found it.”
Killings, who coached Leary since his Pop Warner days, was murdered last August. Since Killings’ passing, Leary has paid homage to his former mentor during games, writing the letters LLC on his cleats which stands for “Long Live Curt.” He also mentioned him in his commitment announcement and still holds his advice close to his heart today.
“He always wanted me to enjoy all the good times,” Leary said. “Don’t try to spend most of your life worrying about all of the bad stuff. He definitely wouldn’t want me to be sad. He’d probably be telling me to just enjoy all the times we had together.”
Unfortunately, Killings’ death wasn’t the only tragedy Leary has had to overcome. In late April, his close friend, Dexter Rentz, was shot and killed during a drive-by shooting in their hometown of Orlando, Fla.
Rentz, a class of 2020 Louisville commit, had played with Leary since the fifth grade. The pair of receivers were two of the top prospects in the Orlando area and oftentimes went back and forth finetuning each other’s games. After watching Leary’s stock explode last season, Rentz’s advice to the rising star was simple: “Just stay humble, and the rest will take care of itself.”
“Before I got my fourth star on Rivals, he was just like, ‘Don’t worry, I know you’re going to get it,’” Leary recalled.
That prediction came true in May when Leary was updated to four-star status in Rivals’ latest rankings.
“When I got it, I couldn’t do nothing but cry. I just remember him saying that.”
Rentz is pictured right above Leary in his commitment graphic. The Alabama commit also paid tribute to his fallen friend by drawing a picture of him this offseason.
“I feel like I found my ‘why’,” Leary said. “I know if the places were changed, he would be trying his hardest for me to live out both of our dreams and play at the next level.”
While Leary was unable to turn to two of his biggest supporters during his recent decision, he feels was guided by an even bigger force.
It was Leary’s mother, Semona Stafford, who ultimately advised him to delay his announcement. The commitment was supposed to be made on Stafford’s birthday, but after noticing her son struggling to make up his mind, she told him to pray on the decision and wait on God to tell him where to go. Scrolling through his phone Tuesday night, Leary believes he received a sign.
“Out of nowhere, Coach (Holmon) Wiggins’ number popped up in my phone,” he said. “I can’t really explain it, I just know God was talking to me.
“I actually had no clue I was committing Tuesday night. I just felt it. I just knew right there at the moment that this is the school for me and that I can’t miss out on this opportunity.”
There were some earlier signs as well. Leary says he had a dream about committing to Alabama back in March but decided not to act on it because it was so early in the process.
Looking back, Stafford says there were certainly moments when her son’s interest in Alabama was clear. For example, the time Nick Saban visited Leary at his high school.
“Christian called me and was, ‘Guess who’s here. Guess who’s here,’” Stafford recalled. “I’m like, ‘Who?’ He’s like ‘Nick Saban!’ It’s so funny because I asked, ‘What does he have on?’ He goes, ‘He has on khaki pants and a crimson jacket.’ I laughed because most kids would just say red, but he made sure to say crimson. He was so meticulous about what Saban had on. I heard the excitement in his voice from then.”
After urging Leary to take his time, Stafford had no idea her son was nearing a decision. Count her as one of the many surprised by Leary’s late-night announcement.
“He never mentioned it again until that night. Then he was like, ‘I think I’m going to commit,” Stafford said. “I was like, ‘You are going to commit? Are you sure?’ He said he was sure and he got a sign that it is time to commit and a sign of what school it should be.”
While divine intervention might have been in play, Alabama also received some help from one of its other 2021 commits. Four-star receiver Agiye Hall talks regularly to Leary and played a big role in convincing his fellow Florida native to choose the Crimson Tide over Auburn.
“I told him my top two, and he was like, ‘Honestly bro, you’re going to ball at either school,’” Leary said. “He was like ‘You know Alabama brings out the best in everyone.’ That’s one of the reasons I chose them. I want to be the best.
“I think me and Agiye are going to push each other. Even though we’re at the same position, we’re both hungry for this. We both want to win, so I think we’re going to push each other to be our best.”
Leary is one of three four-star Florida receivers in Alabama’s 2021 class, joining Hall and Jacorey Brooks. Each member of that trio is expected to fight for playing time right away at Alabama as starters DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle are projected to be first-round picks in next year’s NFL draft.
Leary is coming off a junior season of high school in which he recorded 46 receptions for 1,036 yards and eight touchdowns while also averaging 9.42 yards per carry and adding 528 yards and eight more scores on the ground. Given his track-star speed, many have labeled the 5-foot-10, 190-pound playmaker as the heir apparent to Waddle at Alabama’s slot position. In fact, the Crimson Tide receiver even texted Leary to introduce himself following Tuesday night’s commitment.
“He just told me, ‘You’re the real deal,’” Leary said. “He said he was going to show me the ropes and just introduce me to the slot position since I’ll be taking his spot."
Leary says he typically doesn’t like to be compared to anyone else, but when it comes to a first-team All-American like Waddle, he’s willing to make an exception.
“I definitely see the resemblance in the game style,” Leary said. “But I’m going to be bigger than him, way bigger than him.”
Due to COVID-19, Leary committed to Alabama despite never making a visit on campus. Still, he stated that he is completely confident in his decision and plans to shut down his recruitment moving forward.
“I’m there for business,” Leary said. “I’m not really worried about how the bed is or how the food is. I know I’m going to be around guys who have the same mindset as me, so we are going to push each other.”
