Alabama football lands commitment from nation's No. 1-rated athlete, Isaiah Bond
Alabama football has nearly as many commits from Georgia as it does in its own state.
Buford High four-star athlete Isaiah Bond committed to Alabama, he announced Thursday night. Bond, the No. 1 athlete in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite, picked the Crimson Tide over Georgia and Florida, which he decommitted from in November after former Florida coach Dan Mullen was fired.
After the six commits in Alabama, the Crimson Tide has four commits from both Georgia and Florida. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Bond joins Buford teammate safety Jake Pope in Alabama's class of 2022.
Alabama now has 21 known commits and remains one of the top three classes in the county. Eleven of the commits are ranked in the top 100 in the country.
"I've been competing against the best my whole life, and I feel like to reach my next level of academics and athletics, going to a program like that just suits me well," Bond said.
Bond, the No. 86 recruit, plays both receiver and secondary for Buford, using his quickness to get past defenders and haul in a deep balls. He also makes defenders miss on film. On defense, he has used the same to catch up with receivers and make plays.
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Bond and Pope are playing in the Georgia high school state championships this week for a chance at repeating as champions in the state's second-largest classification.
It was a good day for Alabama's second-highest ranked recruit, five-star quarterback recruit Ty Simpson, who was named the Tennessee high school football Gatorade Player of the Year. Commit Shawn Murphy from Virginia won the Butkus Award for the nation's top linebacker.
The national signing day period is Dec. 15-17, and several targets will be making decisions
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Contact Jerell Rushin at 205-600-4015 or jrushin@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Buford's Isaiah Bond commits to Alabama football before signing period
