Four-star linebacker Dawson Merritt became Alabama’s 19th commit Wednesday when he chose the Crimson Tide over Nebraska after a lengthy battle between both sides. Merritt took an official visit to Alabama on June 7 which helped put the Tide over the top after the Cornhuskers pushed hard for his services.
The Crimson Tide currently has the No. 3 ranked recruiting class with the potential to be No. 1 when National Signing Day rolls around. As Merritt detailed in a Thursday appearance on Tide 100.9’s “The Game with Ryan Fowler," being part of a potential top recruiting class in Kalen DeBoer’s first season was a vital component in Alabama winning out.
“We’re going to have the No. 1 class in the nation,” Merritt said. “If I want to be the player I want to be and the player that I am, why not play against the best every single day?”
Merritt is projected to play the Wolf role in Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s 4-2-5 defense, meaning he’ll be primarily coached by linebackers coach Christian Robinson. From their first phone call, the pair have formed a strong bond. Merritt has spent extensive time watching film with Robinson and learning about his future spot on the team. The pair even played a competitive 27 holes of mini-golf during Merritt’s official visit.
“Right away, we connected and within a week me and CRob had my best relationship in this entire recruiting process,” Merritt said. "We talk all the time and it could have nothing to do with anything football-related. We both have the same favorite artist, Drake. We talk about Drake a lot. We talk about a lot of different things. My mom likes to say that we’re almost the same person.”
Early relationships with DeBoer and Alabama general manager Courtney Morgan were also essential. Washington was one of Merritt’s first offers and Morgan called to deliver him that news. That early introduction also allowed him to really get to know DeBoer and Merritt was excited to get to Tuscaloosa when the staff re-offered him at Alabama.
“He’s just a very personable guy,” Merritt said of DeBoer. “When he was in Washington he was my first big-time offer. We sat on the phone call for an hour-plus just talking about me and my life, my backstory. He really gets into talking with my family. He’s on a group chat with my mom, my dad and my brother and I’m not even on it and they talk all the time. He’s just a very personable guy and he enjoys knowing each and every one of his recruits and players and knowing him on a different level.”
During his recruiting process, Merritt has also had one of the best guides when it came to helping him evaluate coaching staffs. His father, Dave Merritt, is a former NFL defensive back who has spent the last 27 years in the coaching ranks. Dave is currently the defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and understands what a strong coaching culture looks like. Dawson said he can tell when his father likes what a coaching staff is selling and when they went to Alabama, it was clear what Dave thought.
“He came on all the visits with me and you could kind of tell how he liked the schools and how he listed the staffs based off their energy,” Dawson said. “If he was super loud everywhere he went you could tell he loved it, and he was walking through the halls screaming, being all loud like he normally is. He loves everyone on the staff. We’re super close with CRob as a family.”
With his commitment locked in, Merritt said he’s turning his attention towards his senior season and improving on his impressive Seven sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 83 total tackles in his junior campaign with Blue Valley High School.
“I feel like I’m a very high-motor player, I play with 100% effort on every single play whether it's to the backside or whether it's to me. I have a high football IQ. I’m very intellectual on the field because I tend to watch a lot of film so I don’t get tricked too often by eye candy and stuff like that. I’m a very versatile player. If you watch my film I played in a lot of different spots on the defense and I feel like I can do anything a coach is asking me to do.”
Now that he’s committed, Merritt is also fully pledging to the cause of helping Alabama reach the No. 1 ranked class. Merritt said he’s hoping to help land four-star cornerback Dijon Lee and fellow Wolf target Justin Hill.
“Roll Tide," he said. "Our class is coming with some big stuff and I hope y’all are ready.”
