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The Tuscaloosa News
Why this Ohio high school has embraced itself as Alabama football talent pipeline
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Why this Ohio high school has embraced itself as Alabama football talent pipeline
CINCINNATI, Ohio − Rihyael Kelley knew exactly what he was in for that particular summer morning.
The 2026 Alabama football commit stood at the top of a hill less than five miles from Winton Woods High School. He stretched, preparing for a speed and conditioning workout much less appealing than the traditional summer weight room session.
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"Just constantly running," Kelley told the Tuscaloosa News. "We don't get breaks, for real."
For Winton Woods High School football coach Chad Murphy, the workout had become a staple. It's a workout both Alabama linebacker Justin Hill and Crimson Tide defensive back Cam Calhoun have participated in. It's a rite of passage that has carried over to Kelley.
"It's a toughness thing," Murphy said.
That "toughness thing" has turned Winton Woods into an Alabama player factory, one that rivals high school programs like Mater Dei in California and IMG Academy in Florida.
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In 2025, Calhoun and Hill, both Winton Woods products, are two of Alabama's three Ohio natives on its roster, along with West Virginia transfer tight end Jack Sammarco, also a Cincinnati native. Both Calhoun and Hill, along with Sammarco, could be on Alabama's roster in 2026 with Kelley if the 2026 prospect signs in December.
As his players rested from uphill sprints, Murphy said he doesn't feel Alabama's presence at Winton Woods changes the overall recruiting narrative. He knows successful college football programs are built from the inside out with in-state prospects.
But, ultimately, "good football will travel," Murphy said. And for Alabama to have, potentially, as many as three Winton Woods players on its roster means the world to him.
"When you have one, that says something, obviously," Murphy said. "When you got two, when you got three, now you are starting to say, 'Well, not only are these guys national recruits that we think are going to be really, really good football players and good high-character kids, but they want our kind of guys in their meeting rooms.'"
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Hill, a former four-star EDGE prospect in 2025, chose Alabama because of the Crimson Tide's track record of developing players "who looked like me (and) play like me."
"It's just something I feel I can be extremely dynamic in and wreak havoc and just be a playmaker," Hill told the Columbus Dispatch after his commitment in July 2024. "That's what I want to be, and I feel like they see that in me."
Calhoun, Murphy told the Tuscaloosa News in December, "wants to be great," part of why the former four-star cornerback chose the Crimson Tide after previously playing for the Utes and Michigan.
"(Calhoun) is tough-minded," Murphy said. "He's competitive. He's motivated. He just wants to go get it. At times, I felt like he's almost in too big of a hurry to do so."
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Kelley already had Alabama connections. His father is from Talladega, and Kelley's grandfather is one of a handful of family members who still live there. Alabama was a program Kelley always saw himself at. It was one where he felt he could "perform" and "get them a ring."
Once the Crimson Tide became more of a possibility, Kelley fell in love with the "strong culture" at Alabama, one he became accustomed to with Calhoun's help, who was Kelley's official visit host.
"(Calhoun) said when he was at Utah, the people around him weren't really like getting better," Kelley said. "They weren't as close as they are at Alabama."
Kelley said distance played a role in his recruitment, even while he was previously committed to Rutgers. But one factor loomed larger for him than the others.
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"I got to get developed," Kelley said.
As for Hill and Calhoun, Murphy's expectations remain consistent from when each of them was running sprints up that hill, less than five miles from Winton Woods: "to be the best version of themselves," to "be ready and seize the moment."
But Murphy realizes Hill, Calhoun, and Kelley represent something bigger. All three are players from "Big Ten country," in "Ohio State country" who chose Alabama, the SEC power, the blue blood.
"I think anybody who's got any sense respects it," Murphy said. "It's hard to disrespect Alabama, you know what I mean?"
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Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Why this Ohio high school has become an Alabama football talent pipeline
