We all have traditions around our homes for the holidays. From enduring Aunt Greta’s hard-as-a-rock annual fruitcake to the “open presents Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning” debate, this time of year always delivers.
There are also non-holiday traditions that the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrate every year: flipping commitments from Auburn. In recent weeks, the Tide flipped 4-star offensive tackle Javion Cohen (Phenix City-Central HS) from Auburn to rival Alabama.
Cohen is expected to be a part of Alabama’s 25-player class that can sign as early as Wednesday. After briefly holding the No. 1 spot last week, the Crimson Tide are ranked No. 2 by 247sports.com, behind only Clemson, in the national recruiting rankings.
But Cohen was far from the first potential Tiger to end up at Alabama. Here is a history of some of the best, and a couple of busts …
We lead off with Foster because he could well be the best flip of all. The talented linebacker committed to Alabama the summer before his junior season, then flipped to Auburn before the start of his senior season — even getting a Tigers tattoo to seemingly seal the deal and saying “… at the end of the day, I feel like Auburn University is the place for me and my family. I am 100 percent confident with my final decision.”
But in December 2012, Foster backed away from the hometown team and eventually re-committed to the Crimson Tide a few days before National Signing Day in February 2013. Foster enjoyed a stellar 4-year career in Tuscaloosa — including winning the Butkus Award in 2016.
Foster would be drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the 31st overall pick in 2017 and, while he has had several legal altercations, remains in the league with the Washington Redskins.
The 5-star running back in the 2012 class committed to Auburn in June of 2011 before flipping to Alabama in December — citing uncertainty over the Tigers’ offensive coordinator position after Gus Malzahn’s departure to Arkansas State. Yeldon formally committed during the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and enrolled in classes at the Capstone a few weeks later.
Yeldon had a great career with the Crimson Tide, rushing for 3,322 yards and 37 touchdowns in 3 years. He left early for the 2015 NFL Draft, where he selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars (the 36th overall pick) in the 2nd round.
Yeldon played in Jacksonville from 2015-2018 before forcing a trade to Buffalo, where he has played sparingly for the Bills through the 2019 season. In 5 seasons, Yeldon has gained 1,917 rushing yards on 475 carries and 6 TDs. He also has 181 receptions for 1,402 yards and 6 TDs.
The nation’s No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 2 overall recruit in the class of 2011, Kouandjio was seemingly Alabama’s to lose with his brother Arie already on campus. The younger Kouandjio, however, committed to Auburn on National Signing Day — though he didn’t actually sign his National Letter Of Intent and backed off that commitment later in the afternoon. Kouandjio eventually signed to Alabama 3 days later.
The standout went on to have a great career with the Crimson Tide — started all 14 games at left tackle as a sophomore and was a 1st-team All-SEC pick after his junior year. Kouandjio left early for the 2014 NFL Draft and was selected in the 2nd round (44th overall pick) by the Buffalo Bills. Kouandjio played with the Bills, Lions and Broncos through 2018, and is now with the fledgling XFL New York Guardians.
The First Flip, Chapman committed to Auburn before his senior season at Hoover in 2006, but, after Nick Saban took over at Alabama in January 2007, he made flipping Chapman a priority. That flip came true when Chapman signed with the Tide within a month after Saban’s hire.
A part of Saban’s first championship team in 2009 and again in 2011, Chapman played 4 seasons at Alabama. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft (136th overall selection) and played 3 seasons in Indianapolis. Chapman has been an assistant strength coach at Alabama since 2016.
