Alabama’s new No. 1 2027 recruit, Gunner Rivers from St. Michael, picks up first in-state Power 4 offer from Auburn Tigers

Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer, offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan also visited the Fairhope campus

BY COLE McNANNA
Sports Editor
cole@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 1/27/25

The St. Michael Catholic campus in Fairhope has recently hosted some high-profile visitors that could hint at where sophomore quarterback Gunner Rivers will be playing in college.

The Auburn …

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Alabama’s new No. 1 2027 recruit, Gunner Rivers from St. Michael, picks up first in-state Power 4 offer from Auburn Tigers

Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer, offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan also visited the Fairhope campus

Posted

The St. Michael Catholic campus in Fairhope has recently hosted some high-profile visitors that could hint at where sophomore quarterback Gunner Rivers will be playing in college.

The Auburn Tigers kicked off the new year as the newest Power 4 school to offer the four-star prospect who helped lead the Cardinals’ historic run to the Class 4A state semifinals this fall. Auburn quarterbacks coach Kent Austin and wide receivers coach Marcus Davis were reportedly on hand to deliver the offer to Rivers, who is currently ranked as the state’s top prospect in the Class of 2027 according to 247Sports and On3.

In his second season as a starter, Rivers finished as the second-leading passer in Alabama according to MaxPreps stats with 3,947 yards on 267-of-424 passing with 36 touchdowns against 6 interceptions over 14 games. He was also named a finalist for Class 4A Back of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

Of course, the Tigers weren’t the only in-state school to check in on the rising St. Michael quarterback as representatives from the other half of the Iron Bowl Rivalry also made their way to Baldwin County. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan also visited with the Cardinals at the beginning of the year, however the Crimson Tide did not yet join Rivers’ list of potential college homes.

According to 247Sports, Rivers’ previous offers included South Carolina, NC State, Miami and Boston College while On3 also listed offers from Missouri and Georgia.

Rivers owns a .9462 prospect score from 247Sports Composite as the 16th-ranked recruit in the nation and the fourth overall quarterback for the Class of 2027. With a 91.25 prospect grade from On3, Rivers is listed as the 31st overall prospect in the country and the fourth-best quarterback in their database.  

The 247Sports timeline has NC State as Rivers’ first collegiate offer from May 15, 2024, where his father Philip played for four years.

The elder Rivers accumulated over 13,000 passing yards and nearly 100 touchdowns for the Wolfpack before becoming the fourth overall selection in the 2004 NFL Draft. Philip went on to play for 17 years in the NFL and is now enshrined in the NC State and Senior Bowl Halls of Fame.

Philip returned to his home state after he retired and took over a St. Michael Catholic football program in 2021 that had gone 0-18 in region play through its first three varsity seasons. The Cardinals have subsequently gone 17-9 against region opponents under Philip, including a second-straight five-win campaign this fall which led to the first three playoff wins in program history.

The 2024 Cardinals also set school records for wins in the regular season (9) and overall (12) — including the longest win streak (7) — as well as points in a single game (63), postseason (171) and overall season (538) to go along with the highest ranking in the ASWA state poll (No. 5).