Alabama had a late twist to its 2025 class on the first day of the early signing period. The Crimson Tide flipped four-star wide receiver Derek Meadows from LSU on signing day, adding an elite wideout to its strong 2025 class.

Meadows is the No. 107 player and the No. 16 wide receiver in the country and plays for powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was committed to LSU since July 20 before Alabama pulled off a massive late flip to land the 6-foot-6 wideout’s services. Meadows officially added his name to the list of Alabama's signees Wednesday afternoon.

The Tide was able to come back in for Meadows after LSU’s class was shaken up following five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood’s flip from the Tigers to Michigan. It was originally anticipated that Meadows would follow the elite quarterback to Ann Arbor, Michigan, but Alabama quickly emerged as a top candidate along with the Wolverines.

Meadows had Alabama as a finalist along with LSU, Michigan and Notre Dame when he originally committed this summer. He took an official visit to Tuscaloosa in June and interest was maintained from both sides despite LSU initially winning the race for his pledge.

Alabama landed Mississippi wide receiver Caleb Cunningham in July and kept him committed in November. But a flip to Ole Miss left the Tide with a vacancy for its second wide receiver in the class. Though Alabama is keeping the group small, Meadows is a near-like-for-like replacement for Cunningham. He has a similar frame and was excellent during his senior campaign for Bishop Gorman. Meadows finished with 598 yards and seven touchdowns through the air in his senior campaign.

Meadows will be an excellent complement to Alabama's other wide receiver pledge, three-star Lotzeir Brooks. The New Jersey-based wideout is a smaller, speedier receiver who holds state records for career receiving yards and touchdowns and signed with Alabama on Wednesday.

With Meadows’ commitment, the Tide is back up to 21 pledges in 2025. Three-star running back Jace Clarizio flipped his commitment from Alabama back to Michigan State after initially choosing the Tide over the Spartans last month. With Meadows' signature, Alabama is back up to the No. 4 ranked class on the Rivals Team Rankings.