Bama Central

Alabama Flips Ohio State's First Commitment in Class of 2023

Crimson Tide adds a top player at maybe the only position where it's had a difficult time under Nick Saban.

Christopher Walsh

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Social media went abuzz on Monday when a commitment video was accidentally posted, and then quickly deleted. 

On Tuesday, Ty Lockwood made it official: He was flipping his commitment from Ohio State to Alabama. 

The tight end is considered one of the nation's best prospects at his position, and fills a major need for the Crimson Tide. 

The 6-5 Lockwood is listed as the No. 9 tight end in the country and No. 2 player in Tennessee, according to 247Sports Composite.

He caught 42 passes for 462 yards with two touchdowns in 2021. In two seasons at Independence High School in Thompson's Station, Lockwood had 85 receptions for 1,068 yards with five touchdowns.

A year ago he was the first commitment in Ohio State's Class of 2023. Lockwood selected the Buckeyes over Florida State, Penn State and South Carolina.

However, the Buckeyes recently added Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes four-star tight end Jelani Thurman, who is considered the seventh-best tight end in the nation and No. 106 prospect overall.

Lockwood made his first trip to Tuscaloosa over the weekend for the Champions Cookout, and left impressed enough to post on social media his official offer. 

According to the recruiting services, Lockwood's the best tight end prospect Alabama's landed since O.J. Howard in 2013.

Howard was considered a consensus five-star prospect. The Crimson Tide hasn't had too many four-star additions at tight end since then, with Hale Hentges (2015), Jahleel Billingsley (2019, and has since transferred to Texas), and Elijah Brown last year.

The list of three-star tight ends during that time period include Irv Smith Jr. and Miller Forristall Jr., both in the signing class of 2016. They and Howard are the only former Crimson Tide tight ends in NFL training camps this year, with the Vikings, Browns and Bills, respectively.

Last season, the Crimson Tide was led at the position by converted linebacker Cameron Latu (26 catches for 410 yards and eight touchdowns), Billingsley and Kendall Randolph, who continued to do split time as an offensive lineman.

Alabama added Robbie Ouzts in the 2021 signing class, and tight ends in the most recent class with Brown, Danny Lewis and the late addition of junior-college player Miles Kitselman. 

The Crimson Tide has already received a verbal commitment from four-star 2024 tight end Martavious Collins.

Tight end is the only position where Nick Saban hasn't had an All-American player at Alabama. 

Alabama commitment tracker 

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Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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