How 2026 DL Nolan Wilson embraces unique path to Alabama football
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
PICAYUNE, Miss. — Nolan Wilson has a chance to be “a kid” for a bit longer. And Picayune Memorial High School football coach Cody Stogner has evidence, even if it’s evidence the 2026 Alabama football defensive lineman may not exactly want shared.
Stogner’s wife, Tabatha, coaches the school’s “Pride of the Tide” dance team. And during the team’s annual spring show, Wilson took center stage, choreographing and starring in a routine that earned him honors as “the best boy dancer.”
“He’s up there doing toe touches and was probably the best dancer out there,” Stogner said with a smile, looking up. “He’s shaking his head. He can hear me.”
Wilson was asked to dance, he later clarified, saying he took each practice “seriously,” perfecting everything from his TikTok dances to the stunts with his partner.
“Most people see it as an embarrassing thing,” Wilson told The Tuscaloosa News. “I saw it as a pleasure.”
Wilson is soaking everything in before his life completely changes. He will soon leave southern Mississippi, carrying the weight and expectation of a top-100 four-star into an overhauled Crimson Tide defensive line room.
But Wilson’s dance moves aren’t just a respite from the reality he will soon face. It’s a perfect encapsulation of how Wilson found football in the first place.
Wilson, a 6-foot-4, 260-plus-pound athlete, was not a football lifer. He was a FIFA-playing soccer player who calls Lionel Messi the GOAT over Ronaldo, one who was discovered by Stogner in the lunch line in the spring semester of his freshman year.
Three years later, as Wilson looks forward, sitting in Picayne Memorial’s football field house as Alabama’s future at Bandit defensive end and as a centerpiece of the Crimson Tide’s 2026 recruiting class, he admits it’s still hard to believe.
“Sometimes I even forget I have all this,” Wilson said.
How Nolan Wilson found joy in football
Performance never came first for Wilson when he discovered football. Joy did.
He was on the kickoff team, tasked to use his soccer endurance to, simply, race downfield and get to the ball as quickly as he could. Football was still foreign. Wilson didn’t know where to line up, or what a 3-point stance was as a defensive lineman. But while big, he was fast.
As the ball was kicked, Wilson was off. But before the then-sophomore could get to his target, he was hit. Laid out. It didn’t hurt. He didn’t even feel the “big ol’ hit.” Wilson bounced up and was off again, dashing toward his mark until he brought the runner down, igniting an elation he’s been chasing ever since.
“There’s just stuff where if you don’t love the game of football, there’s certain things you won’t do for the game of football,” Wilson said.
In Wilson, Stogner didn’t need a player who knew football. He wanted someone who showed desire, who oozed athleticism, even if all the player knew was the freedom and teamwork of a soccer midfield.
“I mean, his motor is probably one of the best I have ever seen,” Stogner said. “He’s go, go, go, go, go. That’s his only speed. There is no ‘take a play off’ with Nolan.”
As Wilson learned the intricacies of playing defensive line from both the inside and end positions, he was a natural. It was never as simple as trying to tackle the ball carrier at any cost, but Wilson was learning. He was beginning to see the bigger picture.
With that bigger picture came dominance.
Wilson finished his junior season with 68 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, seven forced fumbles and six sacks, per 247Sports. Alabama bought in early, giving Wilson his first Division 1 offer in September 2024, followed fast and furiously by other members of the college football elite: LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ole Miss, Miami, Auburn and, later, Georgia and Texas. That domination carried into his senior season with 81 tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss, 17 quarterback hits and 11 sacks.
“6-4, 260-plus pounds and be able to run and move and bend like he does?” Stogner asked. “I mean, that’s just God-given ability.”
That initial buy-in from defensive line coach Freddie Roach, general manager Courtney Morgan, head coach Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the Alabama staff proved to be enough for Wilson, ending in a July 4 commitment and a Dec. 3 signing.
From the Maroon Tide to the #CrimsonTide‼️Picayune 4⭐️Edge Nolan Wilson (@NolanWilson74) has announced his commitment to @AlabamaFTBL ! #RollTidepic.twitter.com/LYg4XE8pM7
— Ansley Brent (@AnsleyBrentTV) July 5, 2025
The Crimson Tide was the first Division 1 program to see Wilson as a D1 prospect. Alabama is the program that made Wilson want to work even harder.
“They really pay attention,” Wilson said. “Even the smaller people would know who you (are) even if it’s your first time being there.”
Nolan Wilson feels ready for Alabama football
Wilson is secure with Alabama.
He knows what the Crimson Tide wants him to become: a strong, muscular defensive end who has the versatility to move inside if need be. He knows Roach’s expectation: to be in shape and to be ready to be engulfed by the playbook immediately upon arrival.
And he knows that this plan has worked for Mississippi defensive linemen like him. London Simmons, a summer-enrolled three-star, cemented himself firmly in the Crimson Tide’s defensive line rotation, an example Wilson wants to follow.
“It’s simple enough (for) me (to) be able to watch it and be like, ‘All right, I can do that,’” Wilson said.
Stogner sees all the tools in Wilson.
Wilson’s raw. He’s three years into his football life. But what sets Wilson apart is a mindset not many players his age have.
Wilson is a “big kid” and a “sweetheart,” Stogner said. He’s a life-giver, something Picayune Memorial has already seen, and something Stogner expects Alabama to see very soon.
“He’s playing like a kid,” Stogner said. “He’s having fun playing.”
In his final semester as a high school student, Wilson is having fun, period. Yes, he’s excited to get to Alabama. He’s excited to start work. But he loves Picayune Memorial. He loves his friends and classmates. He loves where his feet are. And he’s going to embrace it for as long as he can.
“Being down here, it doesn’t hurt as much as it looks,” Wilson said.
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.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nolan Wilson embraces unique path to Alabama football 2026 roster
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos