Written by Ell | 10 July 2008

If you've been closely following the scholarship numbers situation here on BamaSportsReport.com some of this information might be a little redundant to you. But since the last time that we did an official breakdown of the numbers things have gradually worked their way towards Bama reaching that magic number of 85. With those things happening, we felt like it was time to break it down in detail again, and go over exactly where Bama stands: The basic information that you need to know if you are new to this:

• Every football team in Division 1 Bowl Sub-Division (a stupid name if you ask me) is allowed to have 85 student-athletes on scholarship.
• No group of incoming student-athletes can exceed 25 players.
• Alabama's 2008 signing class consisted of 32 players, meaning the Tide had to get that number down to 25.
• At the close of the 2007 season, it appeared as though Alabama would have 69 scholarship players returning for competition in 2008.
• Adding 69 and 32 gives you 101 - obviously way too many for the 85 limit.

The easy thing to do would be to tell you that Alabama's incoming class of 32 has been trimmed to 27, and that the 69 has been trimmed to 60, which leaves the Tide 2 scholarships over the limit. The easy way is not much fun though, and doesn't tell the whole story. So this is how we got to where we are: The incoming class of 31 Freshman & 1 Junior College Transfer, is currently set at 27. Here's how we got there:

• While that is technically 2 over the limit of 25, the Tide took advantage of an NCAA rule that allows players who enroll in January to "back count" towards the previous year's group of incoming players, given that you have room for them under that year's 25 limit. Alabama did have room, and both Chris Jackson and Corey Smith took advantage of this rule.
• Academics claimed Devonta Bolton & Brandon Lewis, with both players enrolling at East Mississippi Community College. .
• Major League Baseball claimed Destin Hood & Melvin Ray (though Hood has not yet signed his MLB contract and could technically report to Alabama).
• The only unknown at this point is Kerry Murphy, though academics appear to be an issue, and he is the only one of the remaining players not already enrolled in classes.

Now, getting that 69 down to 60 for the returning guys:

• Jeremy Elder (DL) was dismissed from both the football team and the University of Alabama after being arrested for assault on the Alabama campus - February 17.
• BJ Stabler (OL) was placed on to a medical hardship scholarship due to deteriorating knees - February 26.
• Cody Davis (OL) was placed on to a medical hardship scholarship due to a shoulder injury that held him out for most of the 2007 season - February 26.
• Chris Lett (DB) was placed on to a medical hardship due to complications with juvenile diabetes - March 13.
• Tremayne Coger (DB) left the team to pursue opportunities elsewhere - April 10.
• Charles Hoke (OL/TE) was placed on to a medical hardship scholarship due to problems with his shoulder - May 1.
• Lionel Mitchell (DB) was placed on to a medical hardship scholarship due to an recurring back injury that held him out of the entire spring - June 19.
• Jimmy Johns (LB) was dismissed from both the football team and the University of Alabama after being arrested for selling cocaine - June 26.
• Tarence Farmer (WR/DB) left the team with, as of yet, no explanation - July 9.

So if you add the 2 new numbers - 60 and 27 - you get 87... which is still too high, though only by 2. For a review, here are the 60 returning players on scholarship: Seniors: (10) - Antoine Caldwell, Marlon Davis, Bobby Greenwood, Rashad Johnson, Ezekial Knight, Travis McCall, Will Oakley, Nikita Stover, Nick Walker & John Parker Wilson. Juniors: (21) - Eryk Anders, Javier Arenas, Sam Burnthall, Evan Cardwell, Glen Coffee, Drew Davis, Brandon Deaderick, Brandon Fanney, Prince Hall, Baron Huber, Marquis Johnson, Mike Johnson, Mike McCoy, Colin Peek, Cory Reamer, Chris Rogers, Ali Sharrief, Andre Smith, Roy Upchurch, Lorenzo Washington & Justin Woodall. Sophomores: (15) - Earl Alexander, Luther Davis, Preston Dial, Terry Grant, Charlie Higgenbotham, Kareem Jackson, Charlie Kirschman, Rolando McClain, Greg McElroy, Brian Motley, Taylor Pharr, David Ross, Travis Sikes, Milton Talbert & Chavis Williams. Freshmen: (14) - Josh Chapman, Patrick Crump, Nick Fanuzzi, Nick Gentry, Brandon Gibson, Demetrius Goode, Jeramie Griffin, Darius Hanks, Jennings Hester, Marquis Maze, Alfred McCullough, Chris Underwood, William Vlachos & Alex Watkins. The returning Freshmen that are listed in BOLD are officially listed as Sophomores by the University. Each of these players has applied for a medical redshirt for the 2007 season, and each player should receive that redshirt. Until the University announces that their request has been denied, we will continue to count them as Freshmen. If that changes, we'll let you know. Incoming Players: (27) - Mark Barron, Undra Billingsley, John Michael Boswell, Terrence Cody (JUCO), Marcel Dareus, Robby Green, Glenn Harbin, Jerrell Harris, Don'ta Hightower, Mark Ingram, Chris Jackson (counted towards 2007), Star Jackson, Barrett Jones, Julio Jones, Chris Jordan, Alonzo Lawrence, Robert Lester, Tyler Love, Ivan Matchett, Wesley Neighbors, Jermaine Preyear, Burton Scott, Brad Smelley, Corey Smith (counted towards 2007), Damion Square, Courtney Upshaw & Michael Williams. As noted above, both Kerry Murphy & Destin Hood have not officially made their plans for the fall, though neither is expected to enroll at Alabama. The 27 players listed above are enrolled at the University of Alabama right now and are attending classes, as well as participating in voluntary off-season work-outs. If either Murphy or Hood do enroll at Alabama, we will let you know - and we'll let you know how Bama fit them in under the scholarship numbers. So with 87 players currently on scholarship, and only room for 85, how will the Tide coaching staff make things work? The answer might already be in front of us.

1. Zeke Knight has still not been cleared to play by doctors due to complications that arose this February in relation to the heart murmur surgery that he had last year. Rumors have abounded that the current issue deals with blood clotting issues. At this moment it is highly doubtful that Zeke will be cleared to play, and is a strong candidate to be placed on medical hardship. This would be a huge loss to Alabama's football both from an on the field standpoint, where Zeke was set to be the starting SAM linebacker, and off the field, where Zeke is a strong leader on a team desperate for leadership.
2. Will Oakley has had another injury setback this off-season, this time with a broken foot that required surgery. Between his hamstrings, his shoulder & now his foot, Will has been unable to remain healthy for any significant length of time. At the moment his situation is very similar to that of Lionel Mitchell who was eventually placed on to medical hardship status. It is possible that he will be 100% healthy and ready to go at the open of fall camp, but Nick Saban commented when announcing the surgery that "time is tight". WIll's situation is nowhere close to definite, and not in the same danger range as Zeke Knight, but his situation is one that could easily see him placed on medical hardship.
3. Prince Hall has still not be re-instated from his indefinite suspension. He is in Tuscaloosa, attending classes & working out with the team. While things look to be heading in the right direction, until Nick Saban makes an announcement officially putting him back on the team, his status is in question.
4. Wesley Neighbors qualifies for the Bryant Scholarship. That's a complicated matter made much more simple in this article.
5. Also noted in that article is that a player, recruited or not, who opts to pay his own way, never counts towards the scholarship total as long as he never receives scholarship money from the University. There have been rumors since signing day that there are multiple members of Alabama's incoming class who have offered to do this. The most likely candidates would be Tyler Love (from Mountain Brook, a very wealthy suburb of Birmingham), Barrett Jones (from Germantown, TN, a very wealthy suburb of Germantown), Brad Smelley (whose father Bart is a very successful Tuscaloosa businessman) & Mark Ingram (whose father Mark Ingram, Sr. played in the NFL).
6. Surprises can always occur. Certainly the Jimmy Johns situation is the type of surprise that you hope doesn't happen again. Similarly, the injury situation with Lionel Mitchell & Charles Hoke, or more dramatically Tyrone Prothro, can not be anticipated.
7. There are players who are either buried deeply on the depth chart, or have been moved around considerably in their careers - guys like Travis Sikes, Sam Burnthall & Charlie Kirschman who become prime candidates for transfer.
8. Brian Motley is another potential candidate. After starting his career on the OL, he was moved to the DL to start the 2007 season. He quickly made the jump to the starting Nose Guard position, but missed time due to a broken hand. After returning from his injury he was not able to wrestle the starting NG position away from Lorenzo Washington. This spring, because of injury, he moved back to the OL. Whether that move was made solely because of his injury, due to depth issues on the OL, or due to his perceived place on the depth chart at NG is unknown, but 2 of those 3 would make him a candidate for attrition.
9. The running back situation is one to take a close look at. Right now Bama has Glen Coffee, Terry Grant, Roy Upchurch, Jeramie Griffin, Demetrius Goode, Mark Ingram, Chris Jordan, Ivan Matchett & Jermaine Preyear all battling for time at one position. While Nick Saban & Jim McElwain both like to spread the ball around, the possibility of 9 different guys getting significant playing time is very slim. This situation was addressed somewhat in the spring when Baron Huber moved to linebacker. Reports from the summer 7-on-7 work-outs indicate that Jordan might have already made the move to LB also, though around signing day he indicated that he would begin his career at RB. Regardless, a position with unusual depth is typically the place you can look for possible attrition. Not only does playing time become an issue for the guys buried on the depth chart, but of the returning guys only Griffin has not dealt with a major injury in his time at Bama, and both Coffee & Upchurch have missed games due to suspension.

If options #1, #2, and/or #3 become a reality we will likely hear about that prior to, or during, SEC Media Days July 23-25. If options #4 or #5 are the way things work out, we likely won't know for certain because Nick Saban has refused to address the scholarship status of his student athletes. The interesting thing to watch on options 3-9 is really in regards to 2009. With Bama only having 10 Seniors (with the possibility of that number dropping as low as 8 if Knight & Oakley are lost to injury), and the numbers being tight in regard to the 85 limit, that would leave the Tide with very little room for the 2009 signing class - a group that already has 8 commitments. It would be hard to imagine Nick Saban not signing somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-23 guys in 2009, with expected attrition (academics, MLB, etc) dropping the number of incoming guys to around 17-20. Even if you factor in the fact that Andre Smith will likely leave after next season for the NFL Draft, without further attrition, the Tide would only be able to bring in between 9 and 11. That's just not going to happen. So we'll get to do this dance all over again next off-season. But for now we'll stick with the 2008 numbers. It is possible with Neighbors & the Bryant Scholarship and one or more of the other incoming guys paying their own way that Bama is already at 85 scholarships. In that case, any further attrition would be working on the numbers for next season. Either way it works out, we currently show the number at 87. There are 2 weeks until SEC Media Days, 3 weeks until the open of fall camp (when the number has to be 85) & only 51 days until kickoff in the Georgia Dome. If there are any other developments between now and then, we'll let you know.

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