COMMIT: “Underrated” Lineman Commits to Alabama Football

Rivals dot com looked at William Sanders and decided: 3-stars but not nationally ranked. 247sports concurred. ESPN recruiting doesn’t even have a profile for him. But one recruiting service must have seen what Nick Saban saw. The young recruiting site On3 ranks Sanders as the 111th best prospect for 2024. Alabama must have liked him even better than that for he will be one of 25-30 who will sign with the Crimson Tide in December.

Sanders became the 15th commitment to the Alabama Class of 2024 on Friday evening. He measures 6’3”/290 lbs and carries a 3.9 GPA. He plays both sides of the line for his team but Bama sees him as an offensive guard.

Sanders has exceptional speed for his size. His high school team takes advantage of that speed to much success in creating mismatches against linebackers or secondary when he works as a pulling guard. He is very physical and explodes from his stance. He really excels at follow through getting to the second level. A starter for Brookwood School (AL) since he was a freshman, he has a nasty streak that makes him want to dominate his opponent on every down.

His team is heavily run-oriented and he shines at zone and gap blocking. But he may need some time to work on his pass pro blocking due to inexperience. Due to his school’s offensive schemes, he has taken the time with personal coaches to work on his pass-blocking ability. “That was something that was worked almost every day to help him with is footwork, his punch and his balance,” coach Mike Bramblett told 247sports.

“This is the best kept secret, if it’s even a secret, of high school players in the state of Alabama in 2024,” Bramblett said. “That’s my opinion.”

After the “experts” see a little more of Sanders, I think we may see a “bump” in his crootin’ rankings across the board.

Though he has not taken any official visits, Sanders did attend Alabama’s June cookout on June 23. He may still take an OV to Tuscaloosa in the fall but it is doubtful he will look anywhere else.

Sanders chose the Crimson Tide over LSU and Mississippi State. He is just the kind of OL MSU tends to sneak onto their team and they become multi-year starters eventually landing on NFL rosters.

Alabama offensive line coach Eric Wolford gets the checkmark next to his name for this pledge.

Recent Tide commit Caleb Odom has also been recruiting Sanders, as well as 2024 Edge Rusher Solomon Williams and 2025 elite WR Jaime Ffrench (announcing July 22) both of whom appear to be Bama leans.

High 4-star LB and consensus Top 50 LB Demarcus Riddick (Clanton, AL) is another one to keep an eye on. He is currently committed to Georgia but has set a final announcement for July 26 deciding between UGA, Bama, and Auburn.

#RollTide #NSD2024