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GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Alabama football’s red carpet for 2027 running back Nigel Newkirk – the helicopter that landed on the 50-yard line of the Gainesville High School football field – is nothing new. It’s actually something Deon Williams, Gainesville football's recruiting coordinator, has a plan for.
Whenever a college program tells him when they will arrive via helicopter, Williams’ first text is to a teacher at Centennial Arts Academy, the school on the other side of Gainesville’s football field. When each helicopter lands, kids will come outside and wave, welcoming each coaching staff to Gainesville.
“It’s a good thing, man, for our kids to see, like, ‘Hey, maybe someday somebody’s going to come off a helicopter for me,’” Williams told The Tuscaloosa News.
Gainesville is no stranger to high-profile football players. Deshaun Watson, the Clemson national champion and first-round NFL draft pick, was a Red Elephant, memorialized by a street named Deshaun Watson Way outside the football facility. So was Alabama quarterback Blake Sims. So were the countless alumni who signed their name on college conference logos displayed prominently in the football facility.
But for Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide, Gainesville has become a focal point.
NIGEL NEWKIRK: Alabama football, the 'relationship school,' sold 2027 RB Nigel Newkirk
The school is one of four high schools Alabama has landed multiple recruits from since the 2025 class, joining Mater Dei in Chula Vista, California, Winton Woods in Cincinnati, Ohio and St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
Two Gainesville players are in Tuscaloosa, preparing for their first fall with the Crimson Tide: linebackers Xavier Griffin and Jamarion Matthews. And because of Griffin and Matthews, Newkirk is on his way.
“They said, ‘You’re already an elephant. Might as well stay an elephant,’” Newkirk said.
The Crimson Tide, of course, uses an elephant as its mascot.
Motivational phrases flood the Gainesville football facility.
We/me.
Tradition never graduates.
Toughness, both mental and physical.
“We’re a huge developmental program,” said Gainesville assistant coach Mike Malone. “We always talk about how can we develop our guys and get them to the next level of what we want to be.”
Josh Niblett, an Alabama graduate who played under Gene Stallings, helped spark the modern-day success of Gainesville, leading the Red Elephants to 45 wins in 54 games across four seasons.
Santavious Bryant took over for Niblett, who became Deion Sanders’ tight ends coach at Colorado. But many things stayed the same: the up-tempo, NFL-type practices, the nutrition with a cafeteria in the football facilities, the meeting rooms, the state-of-the-art weight room right off the football field.
“Most guys that come here, most college recruiters that come here, from the tip-top, we still get compliments,” Williams said. “If a guy from Ohio State and Bama, you know, the cream of the crop, if they’re going, ‘Wow, your facilities. Wow, your weight room. Wow, your nutrition. Wow, the way you practice.’ Then you know you’re doing something right.”
To Gainesville, Alabama is different, too.
DeBoer’s Alabama was a relationship to cultivate, a staff that was “more of a phone relationship” when the Crimson Tide's coach was across the country at Washington, Williams said. But from the jump, relationships were at the forefront. DeBoer and assistants don’t just show face for 10 minutes. They take a meeting room, stay 30 to 45 minutes establishing real relationships and investment.
Williams knows what Alabama means.
Williams is a Tuscaloosa native. He played at Tuscaloosa County where he upset heralded Hoover with six touchdowns and 359 yards of offense. While he attended West Alabama and was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, he also coached at Tuscaloosa County and Hoover before moving to Gainesville in 2022.
With the Red Elephants, Williams is in the room early in the recruiting process to hear pitches from college recruiters and to help relay them back to parents. Alabama, he said, is always about character, about academics and where the player sees themselves after football. It’s not football: It’s the actual person.
“Showing up, you know what I’m saying?” Williams said. “Calling, really being consistent with calling and texting the kids. ‘Hey what’s going on? How’s practice?’ And not always keeping it about ball. Talking to them about their home life, girlfriend or hobbies or whatever that may be. Just really deep diving into a real relationship and connection.”
It’s what Menyuna Cooper, Newkirk’s mother, heard from Jay Clay, Griffin’s mom. Cooper heard about the people, the love the culture that Alabama cultivates.
“They have a way to gravitate these kids’ hearts, and I can just tell,” Cooper said.
Through individual relationships, Alabama and Gainesville is building something bigger.
It’s a portal into the future for the younger players, the elementary school kids who idolize players like Matthews, Griffin and Newkirk; players who were in the same weight room, the same locker room, the same cafeteria of these Alabama-bound stars.
It brings Gainesville, the program as a whole, closer to the process.
“It gives you, one, a sense of belonging and a sense of ‘Hey, if you come in and you buy into these things, here’s how it can also benefit you,’” Bryant said.
So more Red Elephants can remain elephants.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football builds recruiting pipeline to Gainesville High School
Continue reading...
Whenever a college program tells him when they will arrive via helicopter, Williams’ first text is to a teacher at Centennial Arts Academy, the school on the other side of Gainesville’s football field. When each helicopter lands, kids will come outside and wave, welcoming each coaching staff to Gainesville.
“It’s a good thing, man, for our kids to see, like, ‘Hey, maybe someday somebody’s going to come off a helicopter for me,’” Williams told The Tuscaloosa News.
Gainesville is no stranger to high-profile football players. Deshaun Watson, the Clemson national champion and first-round NFL draft pick, was a Red Elephant, memorialized by a street named Deshaun Watson Way outside the football facility. So was Alabama quarterback Blake Sims. So were the countless alumni who signed their name on college conference logos displayed prominently in the football facility.
But for Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide, Gainesville has become a focal point.
NIGEL NEWKIRK: Alabama football, the 'relationship school,' sold 2027 RB Nigel Newkirk
The school is one of four high schools Alabama has landed multiple recruits from since the 2025 class, joining Mater Dei in Chula Vista, California, Winton Woods in Cincinnati, Ohio and St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
Two Gainesville players are in Tuscaloosa, preparing for their first fall with the Crimson Tide: linebackers Xavier Griffin and Jamarion Matthews. And because of Griffin and Matthews, Newkirk is on his way.
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“They said, ‘You’re already an elephant. Might as well stay an elephant,’” Newkirk said.
The Crimson Tide, of course, uses an elephant as its mascot.
Why Alabama football likes Gainesville
Motivational phrases flood the Gainesville football facility.
We/me.
Tradition never graduates.
Toughness, both mental and physical.
“We’re a huge developmental program,” said Gainesville assistant coach Mike Malone. “We always talk about how can we develop our guys and get them to the next level of what we want to be.”
Josh Niblett, an Alabama graduate who played under Gene Stallings, helped spark the modern-day success of Gainesville, leading the Red Elephants to 45 wins in 54 games across four seasons.
Santavious Bryant took over for Niblett, who became Deion Sanders’ tight ends coach at Colorado. But many things stayed the same: the up-tempo, NFL-type practices, the nutrition with a cafeteria in the football facilities, the meeting rooms, the state-of-the-art weight room right off the football field.
You must be registered for see images attach
“Most guys that come here, most college recruiters that come here, from the tip-top, we still get compliments,” Williams said. “If a guy from Ohio State and Bama, you know, the cream of the crop, if they’re going, ‘Wow, your facilities. Wow, your weight room. Wow, your nutrition. Wow, the way you practice.’ Then you know you’re doing something right.”
Why Gainesville likes Alabama football
To Gainesville, Alabama is different, too.
DeBoer’s Alabama was a relationship to cultivate, a staff that was “more of a phone relationship” when the Crimson Tide's coach was across the country at Washington, Williams said. But from the jump, relationships were at the forefront. DeBoer and assistants don’t just show face for 10 minutes. They take a meeting room, stay 30 to 45 minutes establishing real relationships and investment.
Williams knows what Alabama means.
Williams is a Tuscaloosa native. He played at Tuscaloosa County where he upset heralded Hoover with six touchdowns and 359 yards of offense. While he attended West Alabama and was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, he also coached at Tuscaloosa County and Hoover before moving to Gainesville in 2022.
With the Red Elephants, Williams is in the room early in the recruiting process to hear pitches from college recruiters and to help relay them back to parents. Alabama, he said, is always about character, about academics and where the player sees themselves after football. It’s not football: It’s the actual person.
“Showing up, you know what I’m saying?” Williams said. “Calling, really being consistent with calling and texting the kids. ‘Hey what’s going on? How’s practice?’ And not always keeping it about ball. Talking to them about their home life, girlfriend or hobbies or whatever that may be. Just really deep diving into a real relationship and connection.”
It’s what Menyuna Cooper, Newkirk’s mother, heard from Jay Clay, Griffin’s mom. Cooper heard about the people, the love the culture that Alabama cultivates.
“They have a way to gravitate these kids’ hearts, and I can just tell,” Cooper said.
Through individual relationships, Alabama and Gainesville is building something bigger.
It’s a portal into the future for the younger players, the elementary school kids who idolize players like Matthews, Griffin and Newkirk; players who were in the same weight room, the same locker room, the same cafeteria of these Alabama-bound stars.
It brings Gainesville, the program as a whole, closer to the process.
“It gives you, one, a sense of belonging and a sense of ‘Hey, if you come in and you buy into these things, here’s how it can also benefit you,’” Bryant said.
So more Red Elephants can remain elephants.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football builds recruiting pipeline to Gainesville High School
Continue reading...
