Alabama football coach Nick Saban landed a commitment from ESPN Junior 300 quarterback Paul Tyson on Thursday.
As the No. 212 prospect in the 2019 class, Tyson is, on the surface, a good pickup for Saban and his staff.
However, Tyson is not your average Alabama prospect: He is the great-grandson of legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. He hails from Hewitt-Trussville high school in Trussville, Alabama, and is now following in his great-grandfather's footsteps by becoming a part of the Alabama program.
"It's a family thing, but I definitely tried to look past that and just realize that I'm going to be here for four years and not let that decide where I go to college," Tyson said. "I let the fan out of me, basically. I visited all different places and stayed open and just wanted to go where home is, and that's Alabama."
Tyson made the announcement on Twitter.
Committed!!
— Paul Tyson (@Paul_Tyson17) April 5, 2018
The University of Alabama! #RollTide 🐘🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/k92wgBdM0A
Tyson visited Michigan, LSU, NC State, Duke, Kentucky and Tennessee and finally took another visit to Alabama on Thursday, ultimately committing on the visit.
He is the No. 5-ranked pocket-passing quarterback in the class and was targeted by some of the top programs in the country. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Tyson fits in well with what Saban and his offense has developed into, with a passing quarterback who has mobility if needed.
Alabama didn't land a quarterback in the 2018 class after signing star freshman Tua Tagovailoa and four-star Mac Jones in the 2017 class. Jalen Hurts was a part of the 2016 class, but with the ongoing quarterback competition between Hurts and Tagovailoa, the depth chart could look different once Tyson gets to campus.
Either way, the great-grandson of Bryant is comfortable with what he is walking into and how he can help the program. He did his due diligence, and family ties or not, said Alabama is the place for him.
"Really it just came down to Coach Saban, Coach [Dan] Enos and the great relationships with them," Tyson said. "Them wanting me to commit now, me loving it down here. It's just home."