Alabama projected to land big-time prospect despite not making his final three

Just when it looked like Alabama's ridiculous summer recruiting run had wound down, Kalen DeBoer has another trick up his sleeve.

4-star EDGE Kevin "KJ" Ford has been projected by recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong to land in Alabama's class, despite a recent announcement of a top three by Ford that did not include the Crimson Tide.

One week ago, Ford announced a top three of Florida, Texas A&M, and Ohio State. It appears that just over 24 hours from his commitment, he has had a change of heart. Ford will announce his decision at a ceremony at 7:30 pm CST on Friday, and all the smoke is trending toward Alabama swooping in and stealing the blue-chip edge rusher.

Ford himself has teased a "big surprise" for tomorrow on his X account:

Ford is ranked as the No. 116 overall prospect in the country according to the 247 composite, and the 15th ranked edge rusher. A lot of insiders believe he's underrated, however, following a viral clip from the Rivals camp where he bullied Felix Ojo, who is ranked as the No. 1 OT in the nation:

Ford is a Duncanville, Texas native and was high school teammates with Alabama freshman QB Keelon Russell. Ford is a guy who will likely shoot up the rankings during his senior season, especially if he continues doing things like he did above.

Landing KJ Ford would be another major coup for Kalen DeBoer

At one point in his recruitment, Ford seemed like an Alabama lean, but recently he has been trending away from Tuscaloosa. Alabama's recent recruiting run made it look like it was out of the mix for Ford, but they've evidently made a major late push to swing him toward Tuscaloosa.

The recent recruiting run that DeBoer and Alabama have been on rivals any of Nick Saban's tenure. Alabama opened the summer with just five commitments, but has landed 14 since the beginning of June, rising all the way into the industry Top 5.

Of Alabama's 19 commitments, they lead the country with five committed 5-stars.

Alabama is still in the mix for major prospects on the board, including 5-star Anthony 'Tank' Jones from Mobile. DeBoer and staff are still trending for a second QB (Tayden Kaawa), and remain in the mix for several OL recruits.

Alabama could make a major push for the No. 1 class, and landing Ford on Friday would go a long way toward doing that.