Alabama Receives Commitment From 2021 TE Robbie Ouzts

Ouzts becomes the Crimson Tide's 21st verbal pledge and first tight end in the class of 2021

Moments after the release of Sports Illustrated All-American's 2021 recruiting class rankings, the second-ranked University of Alabama picked up its 21st verbal commitment on Tuesday coming from tight end Robbie Ouzts.

🐘!! pic.twitter.com/XlNR5jVFJX

— Robbie Ouzts (@robbie_ouzts) September 8, 2020

Ouzts is a Rock Hill, South Carolina native, who chose the Crimson Tide over his other finalist Virginia Tech. He also had offers from the likes of North Carolina, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Auburn, Georgia, and others. 

"Very excited to announce that I will be continuing my journey as a student-athlete at the University of Alabama," Ouzts said in a statement on Twitter. "Only through God am I able to pursue such a wonderful opportunity playing the sport that I love. 

"Words can not describe how thankful I am for the incredible love and support from my family, friends, and coaches. I can not wait to give my all to Rock Hill this last semester and bring that same energy to Alabama in the spring!"

Tight end has been a position of need for Alabama since redshirt-senior Miller Forristall and UNC graduate transfer Carl Tucker Jr. are set to leave after the end of the 2020 campaign. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has changed things drastically in recruiting this year, Ouzts has taken multiple unofficial trips to Tuscaloosa to walk around campus and hangout with Forristall. 

Crimson Tide assistants Charles Kelly and Jeff Banks, along with coach Nick Saban, have been keeping tabs on this Palmetto State standout. 

Here is what Sports Illustrated All-American had to say about Ouzts' game:

Prospect: TE Robbie Ouzts
Projected Position: Tight End
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-4, 240 pounds
School: Rock Hill (S.C.)
Schools of Interest: Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Auburn.

Frame: Well put-together, with natural size and advanced muscle development. Good width across shoulders, chest. Big arms. Powerful, tightly-wound thighs and trunk. Room for more weight, but emphasis will be adding quick-twitch muscle.

Athleticism: Strong. Plays with immense power. Above-average speed and acceleration at best. Adequate short-area quickness, with relatively fluid hips. Great leaper; throws down dunks with ease on the hardwood. Outstanding hand-eye coordination.

Instincts: Imminent jump-ball threat. Routinely goes outside body for catches; capable of spectacular one-handed grabs in midair. Middling RAC threat due to lack of burst and wiggle, but tough to bring down in open field. Devastating blocker; violent hitter with shoulders square to target.

Polish: Plenty strong already. Raw route-runner; needs to add nuance, subtlety to routes, especially getting out of breaks. Mostly used as puller, so must develop in-line blocking technique.

Bottom Line: Ouzts boasts an impressive offer list, and it’s not hard to see why – he could play Power-5 football right now. There’s a chance his ceiling is lower than peers’ due to strength development, but he should get more explosive with time in a college S&C program. Likely early contributor and multi-year starter for major program.