El Holstein, Rivals100 quarterback from Zachary High School in Louisiana, announced a surprise commitment to the University of Alabama on Tuesday morning. He visited Alabama three times this year including the spring game. The former Texas A&M commitment is the fourth addition to the Tide's 2023 class.
"The key message from the staff is that they really want me to be their 2023 quarterback," Holstein said after attending the A-Day game. "The visit was great. I got to spend a lot of time with the coaching staff especially Coach Saban, Coach O'Brien, Coach Wolford and Coach Mortensen.
"The relationship with Coach O'Brien is coming along great. I've been keeping in touch with him a lot and the more I spend time with him the more I can see myself playing for him as well."
Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding led the recruiting efforts in the pursuit of the Pelican State signal caller. Coach Golding and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien attended Holstein's spring game a few weeks ago.
"The coaching staff," he said after the spring game on what he likes about the Crimson Tide. "I like everyone that’s involved and especially those that are involved in the QB room. Coach O’Brien, Coach Dooley, and Coach Mortensen are great coaches and just being able to spend time with them and talk football and go over their offense is always a great time for me.
"Coach Saban and I talked a lot about the spring game and how that was. We also just talked and had normal conversations. He’s always telling me stories from his past and everything which is great. He also told me why he wants me and what he likes about me."
Holstein completed more than 65-percent of his passing attempts while accounting for 3,779 yards and 43 touchdowns. He helped lead Zachary to a 15-0 record and the Class 5A state championship. He was recently invited to the Elite 11 finals after his performance at the regional in Las Vegas. He also clocked a 4.64 40-yard dash, 4.19 shuttle, and 38.3-inch vertical jump.
He earned an offer from Alabama during his performance at the Nick Saban Football Camp in June 2021. Holstein committed to Texas A&M a few weeks after attending the Tide's camp. He attended Alabama's home game against LSU in November and returned to Tuscaloosa for Junior Day.
He returned to Alabama twice during the spring after decommitting from the Aggies. Holstein also visited Florida and LSU this spring. He was also considering Miami, Oregon, Stanford and Texas A&M before committing to Alabama.
He is scheduled to visit Alabama on June 10-12. Arch Manning, five-star quarterback from Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans, will take an official visit on June 10-12. Dylan Lonergan, four-star quarterback from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia, will visit on June 3-5.
It is unknown the impact Holstein's decision will have on Manning or Lonergan. Alabama will take up to two quarterbacks, and will continue its pursuit of Manning and Lonergan.
National take
"Lost in the discussion of Arch Manning and other five-star quarterbacks so far in this class is that Eli Holstein is an incredibly talented player who could end up being the most productive and best one of this entire bunch. That's certainly not out of the question since Holstein plays at a great program and put up phenomenal numbers both through the air and on the ground in his junior season. He's a winner, he comes from a football family and something tells me Holstein wants to prove he's been a little overlooked in this class as the discussion centers around Manning and the other current five-stars. If a quarterback who was once committed to Texas A&M and now at Alabama can not be the center of conversation it would be this recruiting cycle but Holstein's commitment is great for the Crimson Tide and could end up being an even better move three or four years down the line."- Rivals National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney
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