ESPN’s No. 9 overall prospect who signed following a dominant performance in the Alabama vs. Mississippi All-Star Game
Rankings: Ranked by ESPN.com as one of the nation’s top 10 players regardless of position by ESPN, the highest ranking of any member of Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class … ESPN ranked him No. 9 overall and as the best defensive tackle in the nation … also listed by ESPN as the second-best player in Alabama … ranked 14th in Sports Illustrated’s SI99 for 2023 … listed by PrepStar as the nation’s No. 27 overall player and as a five-star prospect … ranked No. 59 overall player by 247Sports, which also ranked him as the seventh-best player in Alabama and eighth-best defensive tackle … ranked No. 48 overall player by On3, which listed him as the seventh-best player in Alabama and seventh-best among defensive tackles … ranked No. 54 overall by Rivals, as well as the eighth-best player in Alabama and fifth-best defensive tackle in the nation … ranked among the top 35 in composite rankings compiled by both 247Sports and On3.
In High School: Led Thompson to four straight 7A State Championships (2019-22), first team in Alabama to win four straight state titles since Hoover in the early 2000s … team compiled a 50-5 record in his four years … 2022 MaxPreps first-team All-American and Alabama Player of the Year … finished his high school career with 260 tackles, 72 tackles for loss and 29.5 sacks … recorded 90 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and eight sacks as a senior despite being double-teamed the entire season … notched eight tackles (including three for loss) in state championship win over Auburn … had eight tackles and two sacks in state semifinal against Hoover … posted four tackles for loss each against Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills … as a junior in 2021, credited with 92 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 11 sacks … had career high five tackles for loss vs. Hoover in 2021 … notched 12 tackles, a fumble recovery and a 45-yard interception return for the lone touchdown of his career against Vestavia Hills … had 11 sacks for the year in 11 different games … had 30 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2020 despite being limited by injury to only four games … posted at least one tackle for loss in every game that year … totaled 54 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a freshman, including four tackles for loss against Florence … invited to All-America Classic in…