Alabama Lands No. 1 European Player in 2023 Class

The Alabama Crimson Tide stays hot on the recruiting trail landing its 14th commitment of the 2023 cycle on Friday morning. Olaus Alinen, the top European player in the 2023 class, announced his commitment to the Alabama Crimson Tide on CBS Sports HQ on Friday morning.

Alinen is considered a 4-star prospect by 247Sports, he is ranked the No. 1 player in the state of Connecticut and considered the No. 14 overall tackle in the class by the recruiting service.

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The 6-foot-6, 315 pound tackle moved to Connecticut from Finland for his for his junior year of high school at The Loomis Chaffee School to get on recruiting radars. His father, Klaus, was the first Finn to sign a contract in the NFL as he was signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2006 but never appeared in a game. He spent three seasons in NFL Europe with the Berlin Thunder as a tight end and long-snapper.

Alinen was recruited in Tuscaloosa by offensive line coach Eric Wolford, he ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over Georgia, Miami and Ohio State and Miami.

He came to The Capstone in June on his official visit with his family and detailed how great a time he had with Tide100.9's Ryan Fowler on The Game. 

"I mean, it was great, it was a good time," said Alinen. "I mean, it was really the full package, you get to spend a lot of time with the coaches and the players. You get to meet a lot of people, you get to see academics, athletics, all of that stuff. So you really get a good feeling about what the program's all about when you do an official visit."

Alinen is the second player to commit to the Tide this week, following kicker Conor Talty on Wednesday. He joins Northridge High School's Wilkin Formby and Anniston's Ryqueze McElderry as the third linemen in the 2023 class.