Alabama will host its annual Champions Cookout — the Crimson Tide’s premier summer recruiting event — on Friday afternoon/evening.

If you missed yesterday’s visitors list on BamaOnLine, you should check back on it now considering a pair of five-star recruits have been added.

Here, BOL breaks down the biggest visitors, storylines, and who is on commit watch.

The No. 1 player returns to Tuscaloosa

Five-star Jack linebacker target Kayvon Thibodeaux is returning to Alabama this weekend for his second trip to Tuscaloosa since April. The Thousand Oaks (Calif.) Oak Christian product has expressed serious interest in the Tide and a repeat visit prior to the fall would back that assumption up. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder said this of Alabama following his multi-day stay at the Capstone in the spring:

“Bama’s high,” Thibodeaux said. “Bama is definitely one of my top schools.”

The five-star edge rusher plans to take an official visit back to Tuscaloosa, which will likely take place for the Iron Bowl. With the visit this weekend, one would certainly imagine the Tide is trending up here.

Other 2019 five-stars on campus …

The Tide’s top remaining in-state target in five-star center Clay Webb will make his return to Tuscaloosa on Friday and stay through camp on Saturday. The Oxford (Ala.) product camped on June 9 as well. Things continue to appear trending in Alabama’s favor, however, Webb is still considering others, notably Auburn and Georgia. He remains adamant that a decision will not be made until December.

Five-star defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele is making his second trip back from Hawaii to Tuscaloosa since April on his own dime. The Honolulu St. Louis product will arrive on campus no later than 6 p.m. CT tonight, but I would imagine someone will keep a plate warm for the nation’s No. 3 defensive tackle. Things are certainly trending Bama’s way here, especially after Tuitele omitted USC, the one-time thought-to-be favorite, from his top five earlier this summer.

Five-star defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher remains a “maybe.” His camp has not yet confirmed if he will be in attendance. If he does make it, it would mark his first time back in since A-Day. He plans to release a top five on July 30. I think this will ultimately end up Alabama-LSU after the Tide missed his top 12 cut last fall.

Notable DB/LB targets visiting

Obviously Thibodeaux is the most notable linebacker visiting as far as rankings go, but there are several other intriguing targets set to be on campus today.

Four-star outside linebacker Kane Patterson, who’s recruited on the inside, will be back down from Nashville for the fourth time this year. Patterson was on campus earlier this month as well. Alabama, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Texas A&M are leading the pack at the moment with a decision expected at some point this summer. If you ask me, I would venture to say Patterson will ultimately choose between the Tide and the Buckeyes.

Four-star linebacker Kalen DeLoach visited for Junior Day earlier this year when he picked up an offer. Like Patterson, the Savannah (Ga.) Islands product is recruited on the inside. The 6-foot, 201-pounder doesn’t plan to make a decision until after his senior season.

We haven’t talked a whole lost about four-star outside linebacker Rian Davis, but the Apopka (Fla.) Wekiva product is expected in for the cookout. He holds an Alabama offer. We’ll see if the Tide takes a step forward here with Georgia currently leading the way on the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

Similar to Davis, we haven’t talked a whole lot about Maninoa Tufono, but the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder is on campus from Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou. The Washington Huskies are trending on the Crystal Ball, but the Tide is in need at his position. Does Bama make a move for the nation’s No. 5 inside linebacker?

Four-star cornerback Jeffery Carter is on campus from Mansfield (Texas) Legacy for the second time this year. The Top100 defensive back has the Tide in his top four. Alabama looks to be trending here over Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Texas.

Four-star safety, recruited as a corner, Noa Pola-Gates is making his first trip back to Alabama since naming the Tide his leader at Junior Day back in February. Like Carter, Alabama still looks to be the trending team here …

One of the top prospects in Louisiana, Devonta Lee, is rated as a wide receiver, but it’s safety where Nick Saban projects him at. The Amite (La.) native is trending to Alabama on the Crystal Ball. The Tide has been very strong in the Amite, La. area landing Devonta Smith and Shyheim Carter in recent cycles.

Alabama commits returning

By my count, 15 Alabama commitments will be on campus from both the 2019 and ’20 classes. You can bet all of them, led by five-star tackle Pierce Quick, will be working to make this a cookout to remember.

Jumpstart on 2020?

Four five-star recruits in the 2020 class are expected on campus today in linebacker Sav’ell Smalls from Seattle, linebacker Justin Flowe from California, athlete Arik Gilbert from Georgia, and running back Zachary Evans from Texas.

Considering this is an invite-only event, it’s clear the Tide has some priority targets early on ahead of the 2020 cycle, which could be coming more into focus if Alabama continues to fill its 2019 class at the rate it’s on.

Other notable 2020 attendees include four-star running back Roydell Williams from Hueytown, Ala., who has named the Tide his leader in the past, and four-star offensive tackle Tate Ratledge from Rome, Ga. who is an early top target at his position.

Commitment watch

Last but not least, here’s who I think should be on commitment watch this weekend …

Jeffery Carter — Like I said above, I think things are trending Alabama’s way for the Top100 corner. I could see him pulling the trigger on the Tide this weekend.

Noa Pola-Gates — The Arizona native originally planned to return for A-Day back in April where I thought there was a good chance he would commit. Scheduling didn’t allow him to get back at the time. I think there’s a good chance Pola-Gates makes up his mind this weekend.

Faatui Tuitele — The five-star defensive tackle left USC out of his top five earlier this summer and is making his second visit to Tuscaloosa in a three-month window. A distant cousin of Tua Tagovailoa, Tuitele has said he hopes to make a decision before his senior season.

Roydell Williams — The four-star back has said in the past that Alabama is his leader. Auburn is also pushing for the state’s top ball carrier in 2020. He doesn’t plan to make a decision until after his junior season, but he also keeps things fairly low-key and isn’t about the Twitter hype. I could see him deciding to go ahead and pop.

Kane Patterson — This one is interesting. In my opinion, I think Alabama is where Patterson wants to go. With several inside linebacker targets still on the board, though, it’s not clear if he has the ability to commit at this point. If given the green light, I think Patterson will choose Alabama. His father, Wes, walked on to the Tide as a quarterback in his playing days. He ultimately finished his career at Auburn.