Written by Ell
| 17 July 2008
Charlie Kirschman – 35 – LB – 6-2 – 238 lbs. – St. Augustine, FL – Nease HS – No Varsity Letters
2008 will mark Charlie’s 3rd year on campus, and he’s yet to see the field. The fact that he did not record a tackle in the A-Day Game is not an encouraging sign that he’s prepared to make the leap from the scout team to the linebacker rotation.
As I’ve said before, I have a hard time really criticizing a player who works his butt off every day, does his work in the classroom, stays out of trouble, and represents the University of Alabama with class and dignity. Charlie has done all of those things.
Sometimes an honest talent evaluation will tell you that a guy just doesn’t athletically fit into a system, though. With everything that is required of linebackers, specifically the JACK linebacker in Nick Saban’s offense, it takes a tremendous athlete to play the position well. And Charlie just isn’t a great athlete.
2008 Prospectus: It’s pretty much now or never for Charlie. With the overall talent and athleticism of the guys coming in with the 2008 recruiting class (as well as Bama’s expected 2009 group), a hard-working blue-collar type of player will find it tough to see the field.
It’s tough to really predict what to expect from Charlie, because we haven’t seen enough of him to make an accurate projection. Though that, in and of itself, is probably an indication that we are unlikely to see much of him in 2008, despite playing a position that is frighteningly thin.
Charlie is a similar player to
Zach Schreiber, who transferred from Alabama last year. He is a guy that was recruited to play one system, and just doesn’t fit into the current one. If he wants to see playing time, he will likely also have to explore the option of a transfer.
