TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tyler Booker blossomed into one of Alabama’s best offensive linemen over the past two seasons. The junior is likely headed to the NFL after a successful three-year college career that saw him earn second-team All-American by the Associated Press honors.
Not only is Booker set to add his name to a pipeline of Alabama offensive linemen to the pros, but he’s also the byproduct of an equally as prosperous pipeline for the Crimson Tide.
Booker arrived at Alabama as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022 from prep football powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Booker moved to the school from his native New Haven, Connecticut before his sophomore year and grew into one of the most dominant offensive linemen in his class.
IMG Acadamy has become a football talent factory, attracting some of the best players from across the country to form a super team — Booker won a national title at IMG in his first season. The school also allows players to get a similar experience to what they’ll encounter at the next level. Players move to Bradenton to play for the team and receive elite coaching similar to what they’ll have in college.
“Coming from IMG to being here — looking back at it, IMG is really Alabama Jr,” Booker said. “And what I mean by that — you have everything you need to succeed. You just have to take advantage of the resources that you have there and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for IMG Academy.”
Alabama has naturally been attracted to the school’s model. The Tide has signed at least one player from the school in all but two recruiting classes since 2017. Three of Alabama's key contributors this season — Booker, Jihaad Campbell and Keon Sabb — all played for the school.
More specifically, IMG has produced some of Alabama’s best offensive linemen in recent seasons. When Booker arrived at Alabama, he reunited with teammate JC Latham, who traded Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha, Wisconsin for the Florida prep school.
Latham became the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. He followed in the footsteps of Evan Neal, who also honed his skills at IMG before heading to Alabama in the Class of 2019. Neal coincidentally also became the No. 7 pick, being selected by the New York Giants.
Booker may likely be departing after this season, but the IMG-OL pipeline isn’t dying up for Alabama. The Tide added five-star Michael Carroll in the Class of 2025. The 6-foot-6, 298-pound lineman is Alabama’s second-highest-rated recruit and could have the chance to earn playing time as a freshman, just as Carroll did in 2022 when he was named to the Freshman All-SEC Team.
“I’ve seen a few clips of his and I love the way he plays,” Booker said of Carroll. “All the coaches at IMG, they tell me about how physical and how dominant he is and I’m very excited to see if it translates here.”
As Alabama looks to fill Booker’s shoes at left guard next season, the Tide coaching staff will undoubtedly be keeping IMG as a priority in recruiting moving forward. It’s a pretty easy pitch for prospects given the Tide’s track record and the school has proven to be a successful model for getting Alabama linemen ready for the pros. Carroll will have a lot of expectations when he arrives in Tuscaloosa, but given the track record of those who took the same path, he should have no problem living up.
“To see guys take that route, leaving their hometown at such a young age to better themselves, I have tons of respect for guys who make that decision and even more respect for guys who make the decision to come here after IMG as well,” Booker said. “I’m looking forward to keeping that pipeline going.”
