Alabama General Manager Courtney Morgan is the mastermind behind the Crimson Tide’s No. 2 ranked recruiting class in 2025. Morgan’s work to establish a recruiting brand for the Tide on top of his seemingly endless connections has already earned him a raise from his new team, as he looks to continue setting the tone of Alabama’s new era under Kalen DeBoer.
Morgan earned his opportunity at Alabama by being DeBoer’s right-hand man at both Washington and Fresno State. He’s also spent time in similar roles at Michigan and UCLA and learned many of his brand-building skills during stints in the sports business world.
Most recently at Washington, Morgan helped the Huskies land a top 30 class in 2023 while helping with the addition of a few key transfers. When he was at Michigan in 2021, Morgan was involved in the recruitment of several players who went on to help the Wolverines win the National Championship last season.
Morgan has helped elevate several Power Four programs' recruiting prowess with his work behind the scenes. Alabama, however, presented different kinds of recruiting challenges given the Tide’s success under Saban and the strong brand created as a result.
“It’s easier but it’s harder,” Morgan said during a Wednesday interview on the Crimson Tide Sports Network’s Hey Coach show. “It’s easier because you’ve got the Script A brand. You’re going to automatically get in because you’re at Alabama. When Alabama calls, people pick up the phone, so that’s easier. It’s harder because recruiting in the SEC is nonstop. It’s relentless so you just can’t take your foot off the pedal at any time.”
Morgan’s ability to go pedal to the metal after taking over as GM has been crucial to getting the Tide where it wanted to be on the recruiting trail headed into the season. Morgan credited much of that success to the infrastructure that was already in place when he arrived.
“I think that Alabama gives you all the resources to make recruiting here easier,” Morgan said. “Our administration, university, they’ve set this place up to succeed, and a lot of that credit goes to Coach Saban. He has enough trophies in that trophy room to lure any kid to want to come to Alabama. So, I think that it’s harder (to recruit) because of the competition but it's easy because of the success of the program and the history of the program and everything the school can offer an athlete. You’re going to get your foot in the door, and then after that, it’s on you to build the relationship.”
Relationship building is no problem for Morgan. Originally from Los Angeles, Morgan’s connections to the area allowed Alabama to grow its footprint out west. Alabama has six commits from California in 2025, including two from powerhouse Mater Dei High School — linebacker Abduall Sanders and cornerback Chuck McDonald III. Mater Dei has had a pipeline to Alabama in the past and Morgan’s connections have ensured that pipeline will continue.
With Morgan’s oversight, each of Alabama’s assistants has been able to unleash their recruiting prowess in different ways. Robert Gillespie tapped his Mississippi roots to land Akylin Dear and Caleb Cunningham, while Chris Kapilovic brought in the best OL haul in the nation with five four-star prospects.
On top of overseeing Alabama’s entire recruiting operation, Morgan’s background also allows him to expand on Alabama’s well-known brand and help it stand out among its competitors for top prospects.
Morgan works directly with Walter Brock, Alabama’s Director of Creative and Production to create different campaigns to push Alabama’s brand to recruits. This offseason, the Tide’s theme was a “Cold Summer.” Players received hockey jerseys during official visits and were sent videos of a snow-covered Bryant-Denny Stadium to promote on social media.
“You have to have a pulse on what’s going on in pop culture, you have to have a pulse on how can you promote your brand and promote Alabama which already is probably the mecca of college football,” Morgan said. “So we already have an amazing brand, so what we try to do is take advantage of the assets we already have and collaborate with new and creative ideas and that’s how we came up with the Cold Summer campaign.”
Morgan’s versatile skillset is unique among current GMs in college football. He runs a well-oiled recruiting machine at Alabama that has already churned out strong results in Year 1. The Crimson Tide looks poised for a top-five finish in 2025, while it could repeat as No. 1 in Rivals comprehensive team rankings with another strong transfer portal haul this offseason.
Morgan credits the efficiency of Alabama’s recruiting and other operations to the Tide’s new head coach. Morgan said DeBoer allows each member of Alabama’s staff to completely focus on executing their role, while DeBoer oversees the entire operation. Much like the CEO of a large company, DeBoer makes sure each part of his team is running smoothly. To do that requires a certain kind of consistency and personability that DeBoer has in bunches.
“With him, you know what to expect every day,” Morgan said. “So that puts you at ease when you walk into the facility, you know what to expect. Also, he trusts people to do their job and he doesn’t micromanage. I think he hires people because he knows he can trust them to do their job…
“He focuses on the things that are important to win on Saturday, and he also focuses on keeping the mood of the building and the team good. So he’s not too far in the weeds on anything. He’s kind of over everything, but he’s so smart and he’s so in-tune, at any moment he can go all the way in on any single subject.”
Morgan was the first man off the plane when DeBoer arrived in Tuscaloosa, and DeBoer’s continued trust in Morgan has already paid dividends for the Crimson Tide on the recruiting trail. While DeBoer further turns his attention to Western Kentucky on Aug. 31, he can rest assured Alabama’s recruiting and behind-the-scenes operations are in the capable hands of one of the fastest-rising general managers in college football.
