Alabama flipped Top50 athlete Drew Sanders from Oklahoma on Monday night, just one day after the Denton (Texas) Ryan product returned home from his official visit to Tuscaloosa.

“You know, the past few weeks we’ve been down at Alabama and we’ve been talking to Coach (Nick) Saban and all the other coaches there and I just feel like it’s the best fit for me out of all the other places,” Sanders said of why he decided to flip.

The 6-foot-5, 222-pounder visited the Capstone twice this month, getting an in-depth look on everything the program has to offer.

“For the academic side, first of all, the support staff there is probably one of the best in the country, and the facilities are obviously top-notch, the coaches are the best coaches you’re going to get,” Sanders said. “There’s nothing really negative to say about the place. Everything just seems like it’s that level above everybody else.”

Defensive backs coach Karl Scott recruits Sanders and is credited with landing his pledge.

“He’s a great guy,” Sanders said of Scott. “Really built a pretty good relationship over the past couple of months. I think he’s a great dude.”

As for changing up from Oklahoma, a program Sanders has been committed to for quite some time, Sanders cites the fact that the SEC is more of a defensive conference than the Big 12 for him to excel at outside linebacker, a position he prefers over tight end.

True freshman OL Pierce Quick was a major part of the Tide signing the No. 1 class in 2019, helping the staff recruit. Quick hosted Sanders on his official visit.

“Just being around him and the other kids, you can tell everybody is pretty motivated around there and I view myself as a pretty motivated person,” Sanders said. “I feel like everyone is similar to me. They’re people I want to surround myself with.”

Sanders let Nick Saban know he wanted to commit on Monday night.

“He said he would love to have me,” Sanders said. “He was talking about how he didn’t want me to commit to Alabama, but to commit to being a better person and working to do my best.”

Of course, we’re just one week removed from Saban’s hip replacement surgery, but that didn’t stop the Tide head coach from being present at Sanders’ visit.

“You couldn’t tell anything happened with him,” Sanders said. “He looked as normal as could be.”

Sanders is shutting down his recruitment and isn’t planning anymore visits elsewhere.

“It’s the best school in the country,” he said of Bama. “It’s going to provide me with the best opportunities. What more could you ask for?”

Sanders is rated the No. 3 athlete and the No. 34 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings.