LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy five-star running back Trey Sanders backed off his commitment to Alabama on January 1. Several schools have reached out to the 5-foot-11, 215-pound back since opening up his recruitment, including Florida.

“They just re-offered again, but I didn’t really get a chance to talk to Mr. Dan Mullen,” Sanders said of the Gators. “[Ja’Juan Seider] was just like, ‘Come be great,’ and he told me they got a new coach, a new staff, and he wants me to come check it out.”

The opportunity to fully enjoy the recruiting process was a big reason Sanders decided to decommit.

“I only get this chance one time to be recruited in high school. It’s a one-time thing, so I’m going to take my time and enjoy my process.

“I was thinking about it for a while. Me and my family got together, talked about it, and just decided that it was best for me to open up my recruitment and just evaluate my options.”

Alabama does not plan to slow its pursuit of Sanders in the future though.

“I talked to them, and they said they were still going to recruit me. As of now, they’re still my top team. It’s not like they really went down at all. There’s still a chance I might be going there.”

The industry-generated 247Sports Composite currently ranks Sanders as the nation’s No. 10 overall recruit in the 2019 class.