Zech Fort put Alabama football among his early top contenders Friday, and his relationship with the Crimson Tide is constantly growing.
Fort is a 2026 four-star safety, who attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Several recruiting sites have him rated among the top five safety prospects in his respective class. He currently holds more than 30 college football offers.
The IMG Academy product put Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and others in his top 13 on Friday.
The Crimson Tide are constantly growing their relationship with Fort.
“I’ll say my relationship with new staff at Alabama is great,” Fort told Touchdown Alabama. “Our relationship is constantly growing. I’m talking to coach (Colin) Hitschler, coach Kevin Green. My relationship with Alabama is constantly growing. I feel like since coach Nick Saban retired, I haven’t lost a beat or skipped a beat with Alabama.”
Alabama originally offered Fort in January of 2023 when Saban was the Tide’s head coach.
Fort appears to have a good grasp of what the Crimson Tide’s defensive philosophy will be under Kalen DeBoer and Kane Wommack.
“I know…under coach Saban, their scheme was mostly man matched,” Fort said. “Their new scheme now is more zoney. The defensive backs, they’re going to get more interceptions because they’re playing more zone, cover threes, more simple than how it’s been under for Saban. That’s because it’s zone now. I feel like I can play in both schemes. Like at IMG, we got coaches that was at that level. I feel like I can play in any scheme.”
At 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, Fort is a physical safety, who flows downhill to make tackles close to the line of scrimmage and to rip the football away from ball carriers. He packs strength in his big frame as he can effectively get off of blocks and get to ball carriers. He displays very impressive closing speed in the open field. He also knows how to complete tackles in open space without any help from teammates.
Watch Zech Fort Highlights Below:
Alabama is expected to continue to recruit Fort.
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Justin Smith is the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter,via @Jdsmith31Smith
