Nigel Newkirk
Nigel Newkirk of Gainesville, GA is a 4-star running back, 5-11, 200 pounds. Ranked No. 226 nationally by the 247Sports Composite and still on Ohio State's board.
What a flip would change
- NoneRunning back commits in the class so far
- 2running backs still on the board, him included
- No. 20where a flip would land him in a class of 19
Still on the board at running back
Counted from the verified 2027 board, where he is committed to Alabama today. See Ohio State's 2027 running backs.
- Position
- RB Running back
- Rating
- ★★★★☆
- Composite rank
- NO. 226 NATL RATINGS VERIFIED
- Height / Weight
- 5-11, 200 pounds SIZE VERIFIED
- High school
- Gainesville
- Hometown
- Gainesville, GAMore from Georgia
- Status
- Committed to Alabama
- Availability
- Out, first two games AVAILABILITY VERIFIED
Nigel Newkirk was not on the field for either of Gainesville's first two games of 2026, the second of them a September 5 loss at East St. Louis. No outlet has reported a reason for the absence, and nobody has reported a ruling by any association.
Availability, 2026 season: Sports Illustrated, Nate Latsch, September 6, 2026.
Committed to Alabama on Sunday, May 31 and shut down his recruitment, the seventh pledge in the Tide's 2027 class. Ohio State hosted him for the spring game in April and had a June 12 official visit on the calendar that he committed before taking. Named entering August as one of Ohio State's two likeliest running back flip targets. Rivals ranked him the No. 6 running back nationally on June 1, 2026 (SI / CFB HQ); the board's rank column stores the 247Sports Composite, which files him No. 226 nationally and No. 16 among running backs, read August 15, 2026. The reporting that names the school also names the state, which is the fact most likely to be guessed wrong here: it is Gainesville, Georgia, not the Gainesville in Florida or the one in Texas.
Reporting: Cleveland.com, Andrew Gillis, August 3, 2026 (flip target); 247Sports, Brett Greenberg, May 31, 2026 (commitment day: "announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide on Sunday afternoon"); Sports Illustrated / CFB HQ, James Parks, June 1, 2026 (ranking, school)
Rating: Eleven Warriors, Dan Hope, May 29, 2026, and the 247Sports Composite on his player page, read August 15, 2026.
Composite rank: the 247Sports composite, on each man's own 247Sports player page, as of August 16, 2026.
Height and weight: 247Sports' Alabama 2027 commits page, as of September 26, 2026.
High school and hometown: Sports Illustrated / Bama Central, Hunter De Siver, May 31, 2026 ("from Gainesville High School in Georgia") and 247Sports' commitment headline ("Gainesville (Ga.) RB Nigel Newkirk") for WHICH Gainesville; the NCES Common Core of Data 2025-26 school directory, school 130231001048, for where that school is (830 Century Pl, Gainesville GA, 30501). Read August 31, 2026.
Gainesville this season
Gainesville Red ElephantsGainesville, GA
- Record
- 5-2 after 7 games
- Latest result
- W 65-3 at Johns Creek Friday, Oct 9
- Next game
- vs Riverwood, 7:30pm Friday, Oct 16
| Date | Opponent | Result or kickoff |
|---|---|---|
| SatAug 22 | at Buford | L 39-19 Did not play |
| SatSep 5 | at East St. Louis | L 24-21 Did not play |
| FriSep 11 | vs McEachern | W 20-10 |
| FriSep 18 | vs Oceanside Collegiate Academy | W 40-22 |
| FriSep 25 | vs Alpharetta | W 50-0 |
| FriOct 2 | at Roswell | W 34-5 |
| FriOct 9 | at Johns Creek | W 65-3 |
| FriOct 16 | vs Riverwood | 7:30pm |
| FriOct 23 | vs Milton | 7:30pm |
| FriOct 30 | at Lanier | 7:30pm |
Read off Gainesville's MaxPreps schedule on , which MaxPreps last updated Oct 10, 2026. Schedules and team results only, never an individual stat line. Every 2027 commit's week is on the high school season page.
Jordan Hall takes his Ohio State official visit Saturday, with one prediction already logged for the Buckeyes
The Cincinnati Princeton running back will be in Columbus for Kent State, his second trip in three weeks. On3's Steve Wiltfong logged a pick for Ohio State the same morning. The other back on this board, Alabama commit Nigel Newkirk, had his mother on record the same day: it's still Roll Tide.
Ohio State's 2027 board is three men who already said yes to somebody else
Benny Easter Jr. has belonged to Texas Tech since November. Nigel Newkirk and Gabriel Osborne Jr. both pledged elsewhere at the turn of June, and Osborne's decision made Oklahoma the No. 1 class in the country that day. Read on their own 247Sports pages this weekend, the three of them are the No. 72, No. 226 and No. 36 players in the class.
Quick answers: Nigel Newkirk
Every answer below is read from the verified 2027 commit board, the same source the grid at the top of this page renders. Nothing here is estimated or projected.
- Is Nigel Newkirk committed to Ohio State?
- No. Nigel is committed to Alabama and is listed as an Ohio State flip target. He is on the 2027 watch list, and a target is not a commit.
- Is Nigel Newkirk playing in 2026?
- Nigel Newkirk was not on the field for either of Gainesville's first two games of 2026, the second of them a September 5 loss at East St. Louis. No outlet has reported a reason for the absence, and nobody has reported a ruling by any association. Reported by Sports Illustrated, Nate Latsch, September 6, 2026. This site prints a reported absence only where an outlet published one, so Nigel carries this row and the other men on the board do not.
- What position does Nigel Newkirk play?
- Running back (RB). Where that leaves the class is tracked on the 2027 needs page.
- How tall is Nigel Newkirk?
- Nigel is listed at 5-11, 200 pounds, from 247Sports' Alabama 2027 commits page, as verified on . Heights and weights here are never estimated.
- Where is Nigel Newkirk from?
- Nigel plays for Gainesville in Gainesville, GA.
- What is Nigel Newkirk's recruiting ranking?
- Nigel is a 4-star prospect, No. 226 nationally, from the 247Sports composite, on each man's own 247Sports player page, as verified on . Ratings move through a cycle, so the outlet and the date beside a number matter as much as the number.
How we track Nigel: he is on the 2027 watch list because the reporting above says so, and this page carries nothing that reporting does not. A position or rating we have not verified is left off rather than guessed. We do not post measurables we have not read in print, film breakdowns or photos of high school recruits, and we do not publish predictions. A target is not a commit, and nothing here says otherwise until he signs.
Board moves break first on @buckeye.recruits and land here with the full story. See every recruit on the 2027 board or the full class of 2027 board.
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