Is Alabama a Lock to Sway Massive 4-Star DE Jason Carr Away from Tennessee?

4-star defensive end Jason Carr is currently committed to Tennessee, but there's one big-time program out there that has a good chance to get the talented recruit to flip: Alabama.

I'm not sure if you've heard of this little program from Tuscaloosa or its coach, Nick Saban, but overall, I dare say it's a pretty good program.

Good enough to win two straight national championships and three in the last four years at least.

The Crimson Tide are going to be a major draw with any elite recruit, and according to Neal McCready of RebelGrove.com, Carr will be taking an official visit to Alabama on January 18th, followed by one to Ole Miss:

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Carr, a 6-foot-6, 280-pounder ranked by Rivals.com as then nation's No. 165 prospect, said he's still "solid" in his commitment to Tennessee, but the plan for now is to follow his trip to Knoxville with official visits to Alabama on Jan. 18 and Ole Miss on Jan. 25. 

"Alabama is Alabama," Carr said. "They're a very stable program. I've never really had a chance to talk to Coach (Nick) Saban face-to-face. I'm looking forward to that.

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Alabama is a major player right now in college football recruiting for obvious reasons, but is Saban's program a lock to get Carr to flip away from Tennessee?

I wouldn't call many situations in college football recruiting a lock, but I will say that 'Bama has a terrific chance of getting Carr to sway from his commitment.

The one thing that Saban's program offers that neither Tennessee nor Ole Miss can is the chance to win the national championship on a yearly basis. Don't underestimate how big of a draw that can be with recruits. Look no further than Luke Del Rio—a 3-star quarterback recruit who turned down scholarships to even just walk-on at Alabama.

There's also the fact that Alabama just recently lost the commitment of 5-star defensive end DeMarcus Walker. He was a big-time recruit for Alabama's 2013 class, and now Saban is going to have to replace his commitment.

Carr has the size to play the 5-technique in Alabama's 3-4 scheme, where he'll be responsible for both the "B" and "C" gap on defense.

No offense to Ole Miss—a very hot recruiting team in its own right—or Tennessee—a program looking to restart under new head coach Butch Jones—but I just don't see this being much of a competition if Saban and his staff make a concentrated effort to recruit Carr.

All they have to do is point to the trophies and the need Carr would fill in the 2013 class.

From a football perpective, it's not much of a decision. 

All Tennessee can do at this point is hope that Carr is taking more than football into account.