Alabama football recruiting: 5-star Keon Keeley commits to Crimson Tide

Five-star edge rusher Keon Keeley has announced he committed to Alabama and its No. 1 ranked recruiting class for the 2023 college football season.

Keeley originally pledged to Notre Dame, but then decided to pull out of that commitment in the middle of August, saying that the process was "quite challenging" and that he wanted to make sure he made the right decision.

Keeley is a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 7 overall ranked recruit in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Recruiting Rankings. The service rates him as the No. 3 player from Florida.

The prospect brings a combination of size — he stands at 6 feet, 6 inches and weighs 242 pounds — with length and athleticism that presents a formidable physical matchup against opposing offensive tackles.

But most analysts feel he still needs to better refine his pass rushing technique to more adequately capitalize on his physical gifts.

Keeley now joins an Alabama program that has specialized in developing elite defensive talent for the past 15 seasons under Nick Saban's tutelage.

This is an important recruiting season for Alabama and Saban as the team lost two games in 2022 and failed to qualify for the College Football Playoff after reaching the national semifinal in seven of the CFP's first eight years.

(On3)

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Facebook