Alabama landed a commitment from the nation's top safety prospect in the 2019 signing class Saturday night, receiving a nonbinding pledge from Daxton Hill.
The 6-foot-1, 186-pounder from Tulsa, Oklahoma, took an official visit to Tuscaloosa in June and then visited Michigan on Sept. 15. Hill committed to Michigan three days after his visit to the Big Ten school and had remained with the Wolverines until flipping to the Crimson Tide.
"I would like to thank the University of Michigan for their love and support throughout this time of recruiting," Hill posted Saturday night on Twitter. "Thank you to all the coaches at Michigan who took their time to come see me play or reached out to make sure everything was well with my family. This was a tough decision for me and my family."
Hill, the nation's No. 8 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, strengthened Alabama's hold on the No. 1 class in this 2019 recruiting cycle, with Southeastern Conference counterparts Texas A&M, Georgia and LSU currently ranking second, third and fourth. The SEC comprises half of the top 20 in the 247Sports team rankings, with Auburn No. 12, Tennessee No. 15, Arkansas No. 16, Ole Miss No. 18, Mississippi State No. 19 and Florida No. 20.
South Carolina is No. 21.
Alabama's starting safeties in last weekend's SEC championship game against Georgia were sophomore Xavier McKinney and redshirt junior Deionte Thompson, who has been pegged as a top-10 selection in multiple recent mock drafts for 2019 should he decide to forgo his senior season.
The Crimson Tide already have one notable player from Tulsa, with junior running back Josh Jacobs having earned MVP honors in the 35-28 win over the Bulldogs.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.