Elbert Hill IV was done with recruiting camps.
Heading into the summer ahead of his junior season, the 2026 four-star Ohio cornerback held more than 30 offers and was already listed as a top-25 player nationally per 247Sports' composite rankings. But there was one offer he still wanted.
Alabama football : the "big time school every good player wants to go and play for," a school Hill and his family had no connection to, a school known only by its reputation as "big, bad, Bama" according to Hill's father, Elbert Hill III.
But the Crimson Tide made it clear to Elbert Hill IV: if you want Alabama's attention, you have to show Alabama what you got. Hill would have to camp.
"I really just wanted to show Alabama what I could do, why they should recruit me," Hill told the Tuscaloosa News.
Hill camped. He got his Alabama offer. And he's been at the top of the Crimson Tide's want list in the 2026 recruiting class ever since.
"Coach (Maurice Linguist) was just kind of like, 'Hey man, this is a guy,'" Elbert Hill III said. "'This is an Alabama guy. This is an SEC cornerback.'"
Elbert Hill IV always wanted to be "a guy" that coaches like Maurice Linguist coveted.
He grew up wanting to "do what the people I see do on the TV," developing a work ethic and a love for the game that exceeded most players his age.
When colleges came calling, Elbert Hill III was not surprised.
"I think he already knew that it would happen in his mindset," he said. "You know, this is what he wanted, this is what he dreamed of doing. I think he knew it was going to come true regardless."
Elbert Hill IV describes himself as "different." As a 5-foot-10, 175-pound corner, he wants "to go out there and ball," even if the football is not going towards him.
"When the ball is not going my way, I still always find a way to make a play," Elbert Hill IV said.
Before his sophomore season at Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron, Hill already held offers from programs such as Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State.
Alabama first contacted Hill the spring before his junior season at Hoban. It turned into a blossoming relationship with Linguist, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and Crimson Tide general manager Courtney Morgan , who told Elbert Hill III that his son is "'one of the most well put together high school athletes, cornerbacks that I've seen, that could be legit ready to go.'"
Linguist, Elbert Hill IV said, "knows what he's doing" as a defensive backs coach, and said their relationship surpasses what happens on the football field.
Elbert Hill IV visited Alabama for the Crimson Tide's home win against Georgia, driving with his family to Tuscaloosa on a Friday night after a high school football game.
And when the Alabama football coaching staff started its national trek to start securing members to join Zyan Gibson in the Crimson Tide's 2026 class, Hill was on the list, getting a visit from Linguist, Morgan and DeBoer.
"They told me that they want me to go to Alabama," Hill said. "They want to coach me bad. They really want to do this thing with me. They want me to become a part of that program."
But Alabama's pitch to Hill was different.
"Everyone has a pitch, but I wouldn't even call it a pitch with Alabama," Elbert Hill III said. "They just came and just was real with us, and was like, 'Hey man… we believe you could be a guy to come in here and make an impact early.' It wasn't even as much as a pitch. It was just having a real, genuine conversation about what would be the plan for him if he decided to come down to Alabama."
Elbert Hill IV said Alabama is "very high on my list" in a recruitment his father said should wrap up in June. But it's not the only school high on the list. The Crimson Tide is joined by Oregon, Ohio State, USC, Penn State and Michigan as the top schools vying for Hill's services.
But ever since the recruiting camp, ever since the offer, Alabama has not shied away from sharing how it feels about Elbert Hill IV.
"Coach DeBoer was just like, 'I'm all in, man,'" Elbert Hill III said. "'We love what you do. … I want you down here. I want you down here with me.'"
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 Elbert Hill IV is near top of Alabama football 2026 recruiting wish list
