An all-conference linebacker is joining Alabama football for the 2025 season.

Nikhai Hill-Green, a former Michigan and Charlotte linebacker who was second-team All-Big 12 at Colorado in 2024, told On3 he would transfer to the Crimson Tide for his final season of eligibility.

Hill-Green is the seventh player to join Alabama ahead of 2025 along with Cal long snapper David Bird, Colorado School of Mines punter Blake Doud, Florida defensive lineman Kelby Collins, Utah cornerback Cameron Calhoun, Texas A&M offensive lineman Kam Dewberry and Miami wide receiver Isaiah Horton.

Hill-Green is the third transfer commitment Saturday along with Horton and Dewberry.

What Alabama football gets in Colorado LB Nikhai Hill-Green

Hill-Green is coming off his most productive collegiate season yet.

The former four-star linebacker out of Baltimore was the Buffaloes’ second-leading tackler with 82, adding 11.5 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, four pass deflections and two interceptions.

Hill-Green had a 13-tackle performance against Kansas State. He also had back-to-back games against Texas Tech and Utah where he had an interception.

Hill-Green improved upon his productive 2023 season at Charlotte where he had 73 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, two sacks and three pass deflections.

Hill-Green originally signed with Michigan in the 2020 class and played two seasons with the Wolverines.

Alabama football depth chart: Where does Nikhai Hill-Green fit?

Alabama’s linebacker room is about to get a lot younger.

The Crimson Tide added four linebackers in the 2025 recruiting class: Ohio four-star Justin Hill, Georgia four-star Darrell Johnson, Georgia four-star Luke Metz and California four-star Abduall Sanders Jr.

It’s a room currently in a bit of a transition period, one that will not have Que Robinson and Justin Jefferson in 2025 while Jihaad Campbell and Deontae Lawson are both NFL draft eligible.

Depending on the status of Campbell and Lawson, Alabama could be looking to fill two linebacker spots next to Wolf Qua Russaw. And other than the four freshmen, Alabama’s room does not have many options with players expected to return such as Justin Okoronkwo, Jeremiah Alexander and Cayden Jones.

Hill-Green is a plug-and-play starter, likely at the Mike, one that gives Alabama a chance to develop younger members of the room instead of throwing them into the fire as freshmen.

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. 

Justice Haynes is leaving, Jam Miller is staying, but what about the rest of Alabama’s backfield? Barring any more offseason transition, the Crimson Tide will still have five running backs who were rated as four-star talents coming out of high school

While talent shouldn’t be an issue, Miller is the only member of that bunch with extended in-game reps. Heading into this month’s ReliaQuest Bowl, the rising senior’s 209 career carries are more than three times as many as the rest of the Tide’s current backs combined.

Still, Alabama feels good about its upcoming backfield, even after Haynes’ departure. While the Tide might pounce if the right back hits the portal, the position is low on its list of offseason priorities. With that said, here’s a look at how next year’s backfield could shape up.

A season ago, the Alabama Crimson Tide advanced to the College Football Playoff despite losing a game during the regular season. Their inclusion in the four-team CFP caused controversy as it forced undefeated Florida State to be left out of the tournament for the national championship.

One year later, and Alabama did not get the benefit of making the now 12-team CFP with a worse record than another team in contention. Despite ranking No. 11 in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 and the AP poll, Alabama was left out of the inaugural 12-team CFP after finishing the regular season 9–3. Instead of competing for a title, Alabama will face Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

The exclusion of Alabama has garnered further scrutiny after No. 8 Indiana fell completely flat at No. 5 Notre Dame in the first game of the CFP. Several college football and Alabama fans called out the committee putting Indiana into the tournament over the Crimson Tide following the Hoosiers’ 27–17 loss to the Fighting Irish.

Though Indiana disappointed in their CFP debut, they were not necessarily on the brink of missing the CFP this season. While the Hoosiers faced an easy schedule during the regular season, they went a commanding 11–1, only falling to Ohio State during the regular season, another CFP team.

As plenty of other fans pointed out, Alabama did not take care of business when it mattered during the regular season. The Crimson Tide were blown out by Oklahoma at the end of the season, and also fell to Vanderbilt. They might have been a better team overall, but losing to two unranked teams cannot be overlooked.