Alabama football misses on Kelby Collins, 2023 in-state four-star DL, to Florida

Jerell Rushin, The Tuscaloosa News
·1 min read
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Alabama football missed on four-star in-state defensive line prospect Kelby Collins, who committed to the Florida Gators over the Crimson Tide, Georgia, South Carolina and Oklahoma.

Collins is the No. 70 prospect and No. 6 defensive lineman in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite, and Florida’s top-ranked commit.

Collins, 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, combines height, weight and productivity like few other linemen. He finished with 109 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 17 sacks and two forced fumbles in his junior season.

He took official visits in June to Florida, South Carolina and Georgia and several unofficial visits to Alabama this year. Collins took an unofficial visit to Florida to end July.

He is another marquee in-state defensive lineman to leave the state, joining Clemson five-star commit Peter Woods.

The Crimson Tide has capitalized on the deep Alabama high school class of 2023 with commits from five-star defensive backs Tony Mitchell and Jahlil Hurley, offensive tackle Wilkin Formby, edge Yhonzae Pierre, Hunter Osborne and RyQueze McElderry.

Alabama has the No. 1 class in the country, but four-star Osborne is the only defensive line commit.

The Crimson Tide landed eight commitments in July, most notably five-star Georgia safety Caleb Downs and five-star Florida running back Richard Young, and four-star offensive lineman Miles McVay this week.

KELBY COLLINS: Kelby Collins, Alabama football DL target, could have monster year after commitment

ALABAMA FB RECRUITING: Richard Young commits to Alabama football as five-star RB over Georgia, Oregon

ALABAMA FB RECRUITING: Nation's No. 1 safety Caleb Downs commits to Alabama football recruiting 2023 class out of Georgia

ALABAMA FOOTBALL STORIES: A broken foot, a called shot, a first block: Alabama football stars' best high school tales

Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Kelby Collins commits to Florida over Alabama football, as four-star DL