Zion Grady of Enterprise, Alabama is the number one or two edge defender in the state of Alabama (depending on the recruiting service) and is a consensus Top 100 recruit in the nation. If you haven't heard of him yet, you certainly will get to know him soon. Grady has racked up over 180 total tackles and 30 sacks in his last two seasons of high school football and is one of the most unstoppable forces on defense in the country.
Grady was committed to Alabama as of last November after a fierce recruiting battle for his talents. 30 different FBS college football programs had offered him by last fall as he was one of the most highly coveted recruits on defense. Then when Nick Saban retired Grady withdrew his commitment from Alabama, reopening his recruitment.
Since then several top SEC and ACC rivals have jumped back into the mix for Grady's services. Just today, Jeffrey Lee and Steve Wiltfong of On3 Sports announced that he has scheduled yet another visit for this summer, ahead of his official commitment. Grady adds Auburn to a summer visit list that already includes Georgia, Tennessee, Miami, and Florida State.
But which schools are truly in the mix? And does any program have a real edge right now?
Top Schools in the mix for Zion Grady
Ever since his decommittment from Alabama, Grady seems to be changing his mind frequently as to his "top three" considering he's actually listed several different schools in that mix this spring, but there seem to be at least a clear top six.
He did visit Alabama in March despite the decommit in January. According to reports he enjoyed his visit and meeting the new staff, so the Crimson Tide seem to still technically be in it, but they may be a distant sixth until something changes.
There are four schools that Grady has logged two visits with this spring already and will be officially visiting again this May and June that seem to be in the lead. Auburn, Georgia, Florida State, and Miami. It's interesting that they're two pairs of bitter rivals, and both sets of visits are going to happen within a week of each other according to 247Sports.
Georgia currently seems like the most likely bet considering his visits, and Grady's mix of positive comments himself. He was quoted as saying "I can definitely see myself fitting into what they do" after visit to spring practice just a few short weeks ago.
However, the wild card program that may steal him away is Tennessee. They have already had Grady on campus multiple times. And Grady has mentioned his already existing relationship with coach Levorn Harbin dating back to his freshman year. Grady specifically told On3 that he "wants to get back to Tennessee", "there is great energy at Tennessee", and that he just wants to talk with coaches a bit more there too.
Due to the ever-changing recruiting rules Grady can still take several more official visits before committing (again), but we'll be keeping a close watch on his recruitment as it may wrap up immediately following his early June trips.
Be looking for more college football recruiting coverage at A to Z Sports all year long. Be sure to follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And check out some of Zion Grady's junior season highlights below to see just how elite a talent he really is!
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