Outstanding CB From California Powerhouse Commits to Alabama

© Gary Cosby Jr./USA TODAY NETWORK

A talented cornerback from one of the top high school programs on the West Coast is bringing his talents to the Deep South. A four-star athlete wants to play for one of the more dominant programs of the last 18 years, the bluest of blue bloods in college football whose team color is crimson. Cornerback Chuck McDonald has committed to Alabama.

California Powerhouse Football Program

Currently, McDonald plays for Mater Dei High School Monarchs in Santa Ana, Calif., and is rated as the No. 9 cornerback nationally for the Class of 2025, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. In 2023, McDonald recorded 34 tackles, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery and 7 passes defended for a Monarchs team that went 13-1 and won the state title. Mater Dei is consistently ranked as one of the top high school football programs nationally and finished No. 1 overall in 2023, according to MaxPreps.

National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins of 247Sports said he projects McDonald to be a star at the next level and beyond.

"McDonald continues to trend up and just keeps getting better and better every time we see him," Biggins said in his scouting report. "He is well-built 6-foot, 190 pounds with a chiseled frame, and is among the faster corners out West. He ha d strong year on the track this Spring with a personal best of 10.84-100m but suffered a leg injury following that race and was not 100 percent the rest of the season.

"McDonald has an NFL skill set with the traits that project to the highest level and the talent to play for any college in America."

Greg Biggins, 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst

"He is a ballhawk who is looking to jump routes and make big plays defensively," he said. "He can read and react, does a really nice job getting out of his breaks, and closes well on the football. He has the top-end speed to open and run with the faster receivers down the field and even plays some nickel to match up with smaller, shiftier wideouts. He tackles well in space and is starting to play with more physicality. McDonald has an NFL skill set with the traits that project to the highest level and the talent to play for any college in America."

McDonald Fills a Void for Alabama

McDonald joins a talented class of commitments, including top 50 player, QB Keelon Russell, who recently flipped his commitment from SMU to the Crimson Tide. In addition, Alabama has a commitment from Derick Smith, who ranks in the top 100 and is rated as the No. 2 ATH in the country.

At 6-foot, 190 pounds, McDonald will be part of a position group that must rebuild after being ripped apart by attrition, either by transfers or the NFL Draft. The Crimson Tide retained veteran DB and graduate student Malachi Moore but lost freshman phenom and leading tackler Caleb Downs to the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry to the NFL.

Alabama Continues to Recruit Mater Dei

McDonald will be the latest in a long line of former Mater Dei players to play at Alabama, a talent base that includes current Monarchs teammate and three-star LB Abduall Sanders Jr., former Crimson Tide, and current Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young, former DB Elias Ricks and 2024 transfer DB Domani Jackson.

With the retirement of Nick Saban, new coach Kalen DeBoer is tasked with maintaining the talent-rich history as it relates to recruiting, bringing in the top talent from all over the country to Tuscaloosa, Ala., aka “Title Town.” It appears DeBoer is doing just that.