Alabama will host Arkansas State for its home opener on Saturday, and while it won't be the biggest recruiting weekend of the season, a couple of very important targets are already expected in attendance.

On Tuesday, BamaOnLine reported that 5-star center Clay Webb would attend the game with his mother, which will mark the Oxford (Ala.) product's first trip back to campus since the Champions Cookout in June.

On Wednesday evening, 4-star defensive lineman and Mississippi State commit Nathan Pickering announced that he would be taking an unofficial visit to Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the game.

The Seminary (Miss.) product will be making his first trip back to the Capstone since an unofficial visit in June shortly before committing to Mississippi State.

Pickering's commitment to the Bulldogs came as somewhat of a surprise as far as timing goes. The 6-foot-3. 286-pounder didn't appear anywhere near a decision the week prior to announcing.

Despite his pledge, however, Pickering still plans to utilize all of his official visits, one of which will go to the Tide meaning Alabama will likely get at least two more on-campus cracks to flip the talented defender.

The Tide staff impressed Pickering and his family, especially his mother, earlier this summer. Pickering's mom even said she would have committed to Alabama had it been her decision.

“In my opinion … I’m not going to school and I’m not going to choose for him, but I am the mother,” Carla Pickering told BamaOnLine at the time. “If I had to choose, when I left that school yesterday, I would have committed. That’s my choice. I’m just the mother.

“It was one of the best experiences I have had in this recruitment process. And it was more because someone the caliber of Coach (Nick) Saban and the people that are on his team … you could not tell these people were billionaires. He made it so comfortable for us that I actually sat back in the chair like I was at home. It was an amazing visit.”

Pickering is a big target of Alabama's in an important year for defensive linemen. If he were to flip his commitment to the Tide, he wouldn't be the only defensive lineman from Mississippi in the class. Alabama landed 4-star Laurel native Byron Young earlier this summer. Pickering also isn't the only Mississippi defensive lineman committed elsewhere that the Tide is pursuing. Bama will likely host 4-star defensive end and Auburn commit Jaren Handy out of Hattiesburg later this fall.

Pickering is rated the No. 4 strong-side defensive end and the No. 60 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings.

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