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Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson DB Eli King can look around him and say, with confidence, that he's part of one of the country's top secondaries. King, a three-star prospect in the 2028 class, is a starting safety for the defending 7A state champions. Surrounding him is a cast of college-level defenders including seniors like Texas safety pledge Junior Tu'upo, Baylor cornerback commit Micah Fleming, and Troy corner commit Conner Williams. "We've got a lot of guys with a lot of experience, and they know what they're doing," King said. "They're technicians." King's role this season will primarily be that of a speedy safety to complement the hard-hitting Tu'upo, although he'll also work into the nickel role in certain packages. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, King's lack of prototypical size might prohibit some of college football's bluebloods from going all-in on him right away. Some will be fine with the perceived limitation, others will want to see another season of productivity after King tallied 45 tackles and 4 interceptions as a sophomore. Truth be told, Georgia was King's dream school growing up. He holds an offer from the Bulldogs and ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at their camp this summer. "They push up top draft prospects every year at DB," King said. Another SEC school that King likes a good deal is Florida. He was offered by the Gators in June and has felt like communication between himself and the defensive staff — primarily defensive coordinator Brad White and safeties coach Chris Collins — has been steady. "Florida is definitely up there," King said. King also checked out SMU and California this summer. With the former, his mom is from the Dallas area, so King is familiar with the region and is a fan of how the program is growing. "I love SMU, I love what [head coach Rhett] Lashslee is doing down there," said King, who mentioned safeties coach and Co-DC Rickey Hunley Jr. as well as assistant secondary coach Jonathan McGill as two assistants he talks to regularly. Stanford is another option, and some other SEC programs like Arkansas and Tennessee are keeping a close watch on King this season. King plans to visit Gainesville for a game day in the first month of the 2026 campaign, and also wants to attend home games at UGA, Arkansas, Tennessee, SMU and Auburn — "Auburn is like a factory for Thompson DBs" — this season. As for a decision timeline, King doesn't have an exact date in mind although he has considered the idea of making a pledge sooner rather than later as he tries to focus his attention primarily on his junior season. "It's whenever it feels right. Maybe some time around the season," King said. "Just when everything feels good."