Mobile Christian defensive coordinator Gus Smith helped Coach former Alabama star Ryan Anderson when both were at Daphne High School.

When Smith looks at 2018 three-star defensive end prospect Andres Fox, he sees similar traits.

"Andres will be one of the best at the next level," Smith said. "I was at Daphne at the same time as Ryan Anderson, and Andres is every bit that good."

That's pretty high praise considering Anderson is expected to be picked in the second or third round of this week's NFL Draft.

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The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Fox, a rising senior, exploded on the recruiting scene late last fall when he made 18 sacks in just eight games and helped the Leopards all the way to the Class 3A championship game.

Since then, Fox has received more than 20 Division I scholarship offers.

"I've never seen schools come through here and contact us like they have for Andres," Mobile Christian head coach Ronnie Cottrell said. "All of the coaches loved him on film already, but I think in the championship game he proved he could be a two-gap player, and it really took off for him. He's a very unselfish guy. He's very disciplined in his play. Since that game in Auburn, there has been a flood of interest."

Fox originally narrowed his list of potential colleges to six - Alabama, Auburn, Florida, USC, Florida State and Georgia. He has since trimmed - and changed - the list again.

He now tells AL.com he will pick between Auburn, Alabama and LSU.

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"I don't want to move too far away," he said Tuesday. "It will be one of those schools."

Fox attended Alabama's A-Day game last week and came back impressed to say the least.

"Wow. I really loved it," he said. "I've been there before, but it's just a great place. You are always surrounded by a lot of great players. That atmosphere is awesome. I liked everything about it."

However, Fox refused to say the Crimson Tide or any other team was the leader for him at this point. He plans to make a decision before Mobile Christian's season starts in August.

He sees a lot of positives with each of his three top schools.

"I like Alabama because they put a lot of players in the NFL," he said. "At LSU, Coach O (Ed Orgeron) is a defensive line coach at heart, and that is big for me. They also have (veteran assistant) Pete Jenkins. I sat down and talked to him and he showed me a lot of stuff. At Auburn, coach (Rodney) Garner and coach T-Will (Travis Williams) have always been there for me. They are kind of the reason I blew up I think. They have showed me how well I will fit in down there. It will be a tough choice."

Fox said Auburn was the first SEC school to offer him. That came the day after Mobile Christian's state championship loss to Piedmont.

"This is a big year for him," Cottrell said. "Andres has told me multiple times that he would like to know where he is going before our season starts so he can concentrate on this team. I thought that was amazing for a guy to be that unselfish."

Fox is currently ranked the No. 13 senior prospect in the state, according to 247's composite rankings. Cottrell described him as one of the finest pass rushers he's coached. Smith said he has all the intangibles to be great at any level.

"He's got all the tools," Smith said. "He was on our scout team two years ago, and he dominated us so we knew we had something special. Sometimes, we had to hold him back so we could actually get something accomplished in practice.

"Andres is obviously going to be a huge part of our defense this fall. We'll move him around and put him in situations where he can hopefully dominate games. We plan on him being a pass rusher when we need to rush the passer and a run-stopper when we need to stop the run."

Cottrell said most colleges see Fox as a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end in a 3-4 scheme.

"So many teams are looking for a guy like that," Cottrell said. "I think he'll be a rush end, a guy who can play the run and the pass. Part of it depends on how big he gets."

Fox said he likely would take some more visits this summer before making his final decision.