Kedrick Bingley-Jones recently announced his decision to continue his college football career at Alabama. The fifth-year transfer already feels like he is forced to prove himself because of his rating.
Crimson Tide fans can be ruthless.
This, unfortunately, continues to be a trend in college football. All things recruiting hinges on a completely hypothetical and subjective “star” rating that does not (always) accurately reflect talent.
Who is Kedrick Bingley-Jones?
To understand Bingley-Jones as an athlete, we must first go back to high school. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound defensive lineman ranked as one of the 15-best players at his position in the recruiting Class of 2020 out of Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He ultimately chose to stay home and play for the Tar Heels over 23 other offers from schools like Florida, Ohio State, Duke, Oregon, Miami, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State and Tennessee.
Bingley-Jones suffered an injury in 2020 that kept him on the sideline as a freshman. The next three years were equally as frustrating. Although he recorded six total tackles in 2021 and 2022, his redshirt junior season was again cut short due to an injury in 2023. That led him to enter the transfer portal.
Bingley-Jones landed at Mississippi State, where he finally burst onto the scene as a sixth-year player last fall. He made 25 total tackles with one pass deflection in 2025. It was a breakout season!
Alabama fans are ruthless.
Although he finally stayed healthy enough to make a difference on the defensive line in Starkville, Kedrick Bingley-Jones decided to seek one final opportunity for his final year of eligibility and entered the transfer portal. He committed to Alabama with a very poignant message to the fanbase.
“Let them know I know my ranking isn’t the highest and I don’t expect them to respect me yet, but I am ready to work and earn the respect.”
This is the harsh reality of recruiting in 2025. Casual fans of big-name programs only care about the stars. A three-star transfer does not move the needle. They don’t care. They would almost rather not land a recruit at all if he is not a four-star prospect or better.
That is especially true for the Crimson Tide. This is how the Alabama fanbase reacted to the commitment from Washington transfer Caleb Smith:
If you’re wondering why MS State transfer Kedrick Bingley-Jones had to say what he said – look no further than the comments under this video of Washington transfer Caleb Smith pic.twitter.com/45xwIYEpl7
— Waaaay Offsides Cotton 🏆🏌️🐘🏈⚽️🏀🥎🤸♀️🏆 (@AlafrigginBama) January 14, 2026
Bingley-Jones felt like he needed to put out a statement about his rating because he knew some of his new fans would be disappointed. And he said it more than once!
“People may look at the rankings and be disappointed, but my goal is to earn the respect of my teammates and coaches. From there, I can earn the respect of the fan base.”
On one hand, this kind of self-accountability is admirable. Bingley-Jones is ready to go to work! The haters fuel the fire.
On the other hand, this kind of promise should not be necessary! Bingley-Jones should not feel like he is letting anyone down because of some arbitrary rating on a website. And yet, here we are. It’s a bummer.