Alabama lands a commitment from an intriguing in-state Edge right before Signing Day

Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football got some good news on Tuesday, 24 hours before the opening of Early Signing Day on Wednesday.

3-star Edge Malique Franklin, a Daphne, Alabama native, committed to the Crimson Tide on Tuesday, just one day after receiving an official offer from the in-state school.

Franklin is an intriguing prospect with his size and athletic profile at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. He's a consensus 3-star prospect and the No. 17 overall player in the state of Alabama for the 2026 cycle, according to the 247 composite.

While his recruitment has been pretty under the radar, his senior year tape, along with his impressive measurables, has made him a hot commodity down the stretch of the recruiting process. He had 16 TFLs and nine sacks during the regular season for Daphne, and his tape got him noticed by several major programs. Most notably, Franklin received an offer last month from Oklahoma and seemed to be trending toward Norman until Alabama came through with an offer on Monday.

Alabama adds to an impressive 2026 class with Malique Franklin's commitment

Franklin is the 24th commitment in the Tide's 2026 class and temporarily moves Alabama up to the No. 2 overall class in the composite rankings. They are unlikely to stay there, however.

Recruiting insiders are projecting Alabama to lose three prospects who are currently committed to the Tide.

WR Brian Williams Jr., RB Javari Barnett, and DL JJ Finch - all 3-star prospects - are unlikely to end up signing with the Crimson Tide on Wednesday.

Williams is trending toward Auburn. The WR committed to Alabama over the summer but never blew up as the coaching staff hoped. He had been trending toward a flip to USF, but with Alex Golesh and that coaching staff heading to Auburn, Williams is expected to follow.

Barnett flipped from Illinois to Alabama over the summer and is now expected to flip back to Illinois. Alabama took a flier on the 3-star RB, but is more than comfortable with 5-star EJ Crowell as the standalone back in this class.

Finch is likely to be the only loss Alabama would have preferred to avoid. Tennessee has been pushing for Finch for quite some time, and it looks like those efforts are likely to pay off with a flip.

That would take Alabama down to 21 commitments, though there still could be a signing day surprise or two up DeBoer's sleeves.