Amari Niblack, 4-Star Athlete/TE, Signs with Alabama
Amari Niblack, a 4-star athlete from Lakewood High School in Clearwater, Florida has officially signed his national letter of intent to take his talents to Tuscaloosa and join the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2022 recruiting class.
Niblack originally committed to Alabama in June just three days after receiving an offer from Nick Saban's recruiting staff after a dominating performance in a Summer camp.
The consensus 4-star athlete stands a dominating 6-foot-4, 220lbs and figures to be a future answer at tight end, though he possesses the athleticism to play wide receiver -- hence the athlete moniker.
Lakewood utilized Niblack as a modern Y-Tight End, in other words, he operated as a big body slot receiver, similar to how Florida utilized Kyle Pitts. As such, according to 247Sports's Andrew Ivens, Niblack is not the refined blocker required to be a traditional in-line blocking tight end.
That said, Niblack does his best work catching the ball and operating after the reception. He runs clean routes, plays above the rim and can pick up the tough yards after the catch.
Alabama has employed multiple tight end sets for years, allowing for flexibility in recruiting to find athletes with different skills. When Niblack reaches the University of Alabama, he'll join a fairly crowded tight end group that will likely be led by Jahleel Billingsley and Cameron Latu. Behind them, Robbie Outz is a great blocker that can fill Major Tennison's current role while fellow rising sophomore Richard Hunt figures to be in the long-term plans of the offense.
Niblack isn't the only tight end in the 2022 recruiting class. Jaleel Skinner, a 4-star tight end ranked third in the country out of IMG Academy, and Elijah Brown, a 3-star tight end ranked 13th in the country out of Dayton, Ohio, are both expected to join the Crimson Tide in 2022.
As for Niblack himself, 247Sports's Composite Rankings have him rated as the seventh athlete in the country, the 22nd overall player in Florida and the 173rd overall player in the country. He was primarily recruited by wide receivers coach Holman Wiggins.