2017 4-star DT Akial Byers committed to Alabama on Sunday.

Alabama gained a commitment from 2017 four-star defensive tackle Akial Byers on Sunday afternoon as the Top247 lineman chose Bama over Mississippi State, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Oklahoma, BamaOnLine has learned.

The Fayetteville (Ark.) product, who becomes the Tide’s 15th commitment in the class, earned an offer from Alabama earlier in the year, honing in on Alabama as his top choice within the last couple of months.

“The reason it’s Alabama is in a span of two or three weeks he got 15 to 20 offers from some really big-time schools,” Fayetteville head coach Benji Mahan told BamaOnLine. “And to me the difference in Alabama and some of those is, it wasn’t just, ‘Hey we would like for you to come to our school’ and then just kind of done. Alabama not only gave him an offer, they invested in his life and built a relationship with him and his mom and his brother and with us as coaches. That to me is what separated them.

“When we left Ohio State, me and him, I said what do you think and he said Alabama. I say why? He said Coach (Karl) Dunbar and Coach (Billy) Napier and that was the bottom line.”

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Mahan couldn’t say enough about the time and the effort Napier, along with the rest of the staff at Alabama put in to Byers, his family and the Fayetteville coaching staff.

“I just was very impressed with one, he’s a wide receivers coach recruiting a defensive lineman,” he said. “I know Arkansas is his recruiting area, and that’s important, but the amount of time he has put into Akial and to us as coaches has just really been amazing to watch. He’s gotten the academic people with us and these people are doing this on vacation and with their families. That shows us that there’s dedication to not only Alabama, but to these kids as well.”

At 6-foot-4, 275-pounds, Byers isn’t the largest guy along the defensive line, but its his other skills and physical traits that make him special.

“It goes to his hips,” Mahan said. “His hips are so good. You know, the days of 330-pound defensive linemen are over. They’re looking for those guys that are 280 or 290 and can really move their feet. Akial fits that model. He’s got great hips and feet and can close on running backs down the line of scrimmage. That first step and that punch are really, really dynamic.”

Byers is rated the No. 13 defensive tackle and the No. 228 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

At the time of his commitment, Byers was trending to Alabama at 67 percent on the 247Sports Crystal Ball. The Tide remains at No. 3 in the 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings behind Ohio State and Georgia.

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