Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy five-star running back Trey Sanders originally gave his commitment to the Alabama Crimson Tide back on April 16, 2016. That pledge to Alabama stood for nearly two years before Sanders de-committed from the Crimson Tide on January 1, 2018 in order to go through the recruiting process fully.

In February and March, the Miami Hurricanes started to make a run at Sanders after getting he and his mother on campus. During the month of April, it was the Florida Gators that started to surge for Sanders after UF took his older brother, Umstead, as a preferred walk-on.

However, by the time May rolled back around, the rumors of Alabama once again gaining control of Sanders’ recruitment began to trickle out. During IMG Academy’s spring game in late May, there were reports suggesting the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff was confident they could add Sanders to their commitment list eventually.

At The Opening Finals in early July, the buzz surrounding Sanders to Alabama began to grow even more, which caused a flurry of Crimson Tide predictions on the 247Sports Crystal Ball for the talented back. Later that month, during IMG Academy’s media day, the general feeling was Sanders to Alabama likely happens, which caused more Crimson Tide predictions on the 247Sports Crystal Ball for the five-star.

“It’s been like text me every day, call me every day," Sanders recently said of Alabama's constant pursuit of his pledge. "I talk to Coach [Mike] Locksley about twice a week, and we’ve built a great relationship over time."

As it stands now, Alabama owns 79 percent of the predictions on the 247Sports Crystal Ball for Sanders. Florida comes in next with 17 percent of the picks, while Miami still holds four percent.

The 247Sports Composite, an industry generated average, currently ranks Sanders as the nation’s No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 1 running back in the 2019 recruiting class.