Alabama football is down to one wide receiver in its 2025 recruiting class.
Four months to the day after committing to the Crimson Tide , Mississippi five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham flipped his commitment from Alabama to Ole Miss .
Cunningham was a crown jewel in Kalen DeBoer's first recruiting class at Alabama , one of five five-stars with quarterback Keelon Russell, offensive tackle Ty Haywood, cornerback Dijon Lee and offensive guard Michael Carroll.
But Cunningham was not the only wide receiver in DeBoer's first class with the Crimson Tide .
Even with the loss of Cunningham, Alabama has a record-breaking wide receiver committed in the class who is expected to join the team in January.
Meet Lotzeir Brooks, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound wide receiver out of Millville, New Jersey, who holds his state's records in touchdown receptions (65) and yards receiving (4,514).
"All my life, I've been a competitor," Brooks told the Tuscaloosa News in October. "I just wanted to be the best of where I'm at."
At Millville High School, head coach Humberto Ayala used Brooks as a play-making, shifty and dynamic offensive weapon, one akin to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel .
In 2024, Brooks had 48 catches for 1,159 yards and 14 touchdowns. He added two touchdown rushes. He had two games against Holy Spirit and Mainland in which he eclipsed 200 yards receiving.
Brooks had the attention of Nick Saban's staff, earning an Alabama offer before Saban's retirement.
"Brooks is a competitor, not a talker," Ayala said. "He's going to come in there and he knows he's going to be going up against the elite of the elite. The kid's going to compete. He's going to compete. That's all he knows to do."
Brooks remained on Alabama's recruiting board when the new coaching staff arrived even after he was not offered by DeBoer at Washington and committed to the Crimson Tide on April 13.
"They have plans for him already prior to going in there," Ayala said. "The plan of seeing him and Ryan Williams and some of these other guys alongside each other just gives them a vision of how dynamic their receiving corps can be."
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: Lotzeir Brooks, Alabama football 2025 WR recruiting class after Caleb Cunningham loss
