Chase Goodbread, Tuscaloosa NewsWed, December 3, 2025 at 11:11 PM UTC·2 min readAlabama football turned to the same high school for 10% of its 20-man signing class for 2026, adding Gainesville (Georgia) High teammates Xavier Griffin and Jamarion Matthews.
Griffin (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) is a five-star linebacker who chose the Crimson Tide over Southern Cal, while Matthews (6-2, 250) is a four-star edge rusher who picked UA over Ole Miss.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Both those guys are on a team that's extremely successful. Leaders on that team. They're playmakers. You can see the passion they both have. There are ties to Alabama with both of them," UA coach Kalen DeBoer said.
The pair is still chasing a Georgia state championship for Gainesville, and will play against Hughes on Friday, Dec. 5 in a Class AAAAA quarterfinal.
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"(Griffin) is a guy who is a flex guy. You can see him like a (former UA LB) Jihaad Campbell (type) linebacker. He can fly, he can run, he's got some length," DeBoer said. "He put on some good weight to be versatile enough to go play on the edge and not necessarily have to sub in when you want to put him in spots to go get after the quarterback. I can't wait to have our defensive staff get their hands on him and let him go to work."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs for Matthews, DeBoer hinted that a bigger version of the player could be in store.
"Jamarion, just what he does up front with his size potential is going to be (good)," DeBoer said. "A really cool kid to be around. You talk about adding to the culture, just the personality he brings is special. I loved talking to him every single week we got on the phone.
"We need guys like that who can be in the middle there, take care of business and blow up offensive lines."
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at [email protected]. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football adds Gainesville teammates to 2026 signing class
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