Commitment: Alabama adds dynamic in-state OLB Sterling Dixon to the fold

Alabama continues a roll after their impressive showing at the Iron Bowl with the commitment of Rivals250 in-state OLB Sterling Dixon. Dixon narrowed things down to Penn St, Florida, Auburn, LSU, and others before selecting the Crimson Tide this afternoon.

Dixon had this date set in weeks for multiple reasons, including getting the process over, so he can now work on developing his game but, even more importantly, giving him the opportunity to recruit others. Things really started to take off for Dixon earlier this year, which is when he started to take things a little more serious, narrowing down where he would visit and determining which schools fit him the best.

Now that Dixon has selected Alabama, he's ready to be a part of the culture, helping the Tide continue their winning ways.

"This has been a long time coming. I'm excited and ready for the future as a member of the Crimson Tide. I was able to build a strong bond with the coaches, and ultimately they put things over the top this past weekend at the Iron Bowl. I talked to nearly every coach, the older recruits, and several of the players about playing at Alabama. After talking with them and spending some time with my family in prayer, it was an easy decision," Dixon said.

Now, although it was an "easy" decision, there were still several schools that made things difficult.

"I'll honestly say that Auburn has a pretty good recruiting pitch and although they left Harsin, their staff still did a tremendous job recruiting me. Then I'd say LSU, Coach Kelly took on a more personal approach with me and pushed for me all the way up to my decision, but I knew coming out of the weekend where I wanted to be, and that was in Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide," he said.

When asked what put Alabama over the top, Dixon answered with a smile.

"My relationship with Coach Saban is pretty strong. He told me that I had a real opportunity to contribute and grow in their system. Also, anytime I came to campus, he made sure to make me feel wanted, along with Coach Golding, who was also influential in my recruitment and every Tide staff member. They all played a role in one way or another," Sterling said.

"Alabama is the standard. It's up to me and the other guys that decide to put that A on our chest to understand who we're playing for and how we can take our game to the next level. If we do that, Alabama will continue to be dominate for years to come," he said.

With Dixon in the fold, Alabama now has five commitments, including two on defense and three on offense. This is exactly the fast start the Tide was looking for to kick off the 2024 cycle, as the staff remains focused on making sure the top in-state players stay home while also racking on can't miss players outside of the state. Furthermore, with the addition of Dixon, he has a personality that a lot of other top players gravitate to, meaning this could be the start of a run at recruits as we close out the year.

"I'm ready to focus on Alabama and our class. I have several guys in mind I'm trying to recruit, like Kavion Henderson, CJ Heard, JoJo Stone, and others. It's going to be real!"