Lyndell "Mack" Wilson spent the 2016 recruiting cycle playing SEC schools off each other, but the product of Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama is sticking with the in-state school after all. He committed to Alabama on National Signing Day during a live ESPN broadcast.
Wilson is a five-star linebacker with the versatility to play either inside or out, and the frame to be what Reggie Ragland and so many other freakish athletes have been for the Crimson Tide over the years. Alabama's so loaded that he might not be pressed into service right away, but when he does eventually see the field, Wilson should be the sort of competent starter in a fantastic defense that seemingly every 'Bama defender is.
Wilson isn't a consensus five-star recruit, but he's a 247Sports Composite five-star, and a five-star by the eyes of both 247Sports and Rivals. ESPN and Scout both tab him as a four-star player, but all four services have him in the national top 50. Wilson also played in the Under Armour All-America Game in early January.
Wilson's commitment is his first, something of a rarity in this day and age and an unusual tack for a recruit who enjoyed the attention of being coveted as much as he seemed to on Twitter. Florida and Georgia were Alabama's primary competition for his services, and Wilson insisted during the fall that the Gators were his leader, then showed plenty of love to Georgia after the hiring of Kirby Smart, which drew some skepticism from folks who thought he was Alabama-bound the entire time.
Still, it will probably pain Gators and Dawgs fans to see him ball at 'Bama. There aren't many linebackers with highlight reels like this one.