The Crimson Tide cannot be stopped in the month of July, and they are ending it with a bang. Damon Payne, 5-star defensive tackle, committed to Alabama Sunday afternoon giving them their fourth 5-star in their 2021 class.
Payne is a 6’4, 295-pound defensive tackle, but has enough athleticism to probably play on the edge at times too. The Tide won his talents over schools like LSU, USC, and Michigan and had been viewed as an Alabama lean for a while now.
247Sports views him as the No. 1 DT in the Class of 2021, the best player in the state of Michigan and the No. 14 overall player in the country. He joins 3-star defensive tackle, Anquin Barnes, in a recruiting class now rivaling for the best in the country.
The recruiting surge is coming in fast for Saban and the Bama coaching staff. Since last May Alabama has picked up three 5-star recruits and a total of seven top-100 ESPN recruits.
“It felt like home; there’s no place like it, It felt like the greatest place on Earth to me.”
McCabe, Mick. Belleville 2021 Five-Star DT Damon Payne Commits to Alabama Football; ‘It Felt like Home’. 26 July 2020, www.freep.com/story/sports/high-school/mick-mccabe/2020/07/26/belleville-damon-payne-alabama-football-recruiting-2021/5515680002/.
He is a menace in the back field, and gives Nick Saban another toy to plug on that defensive line. While he most likely won’t push for a starting role, Payne should be able to make an impact as a freshman. Last season he recorded 59 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss and eight sacks for Belleville High School.
