We finally got our 2008 Alabama football media guide, and some interesting things popped out at us. First some notes, then some new numbers, then some height and weight changes:
Freshman Burton Scott is officially listed as “B.J.” Scott, & he is listed at WR.
Baron Huber is listed as a Running Back, despite playing the spring at WILL Linebacker.
Prince Hall is not listed at all. He’s not on the roster. I’m not sure if that means anything, but he’s not there.
Brian Motley is listed as a Defensive Lineman, despite ending the spring on the Offensive Line.
Here are the numbers for the incoming Freshmen:
| Mark Barron - 4 | Undra Billingsley - 94 | John Michael Boswell - 67 |
| Terrance Cody - 62 | Marcel Dareus - 57 | Robby Green - 23 |
| Glenn Harbin - 54 | Jerrell Harris - 5 | Don’ta Hightower - 56 |
| Mark Ingram - 22 | Star Jackson - 2 | Barrett Jones - 75 |
| Julio Jones - 8 | Chris Jordan - 36 | Alonzo Lawrence - 15 |
| Robert Lester - 37 | Tyler Love - 72 | Ivan Matchett - 31 |
| Wesley Neighbors - 46 | Jermaine Preyear - 44 | B.J. Scott - 1 |
| Brad Smelley - 17 | Damien Square - 65 | Courtney Upshaw - 41 |
| Michael Williams - 89 | Chris Jackson - 86 | Corey Smith - 44 |
Corey Smith & Chris Jackson wore those same numbers in the spring, so it is likely that they remain. The other numbers were the ones given to the players upon reporting. It is possible for players to change numbers prior to the season, so don’t be shocked if one or more of these changes.
The biggest weight change that I noted in looking at the roster belongs to incoming Freshman Michael Williams. There has been a lot of discussion as to whether he will play Defensive End or Tight End, and his listed weight as a recruit of 245 lbs. seemed to indicate Tight End. He’s now listed in the media guide at 270 lbs., which seems to indicate Defensive End.
One odd change is with receiver Darius Hanks. He was listed last season at 190 lbs. and is now listed at 172 lbs. It’s my hope that one of those 2 is incorrect, as that much weight loss for a WR is not something I would consider a good thing.
Javier Arenas seems to have taken on the challenge of becoming more physical in order to play the Cornerback position. He’s up 15 lbs. from last year, now listed at a compact 5′9 198 lbs. Hopefully he didn’t sacrifice any speed or agility in that weight gain. If he didn’t he could be an absolute terror to try to tackle on kick returns, now being able to run through you, as well as around you.
Incoming Freshman Running Back Mark Ingram was listed in his recruiting profiles at 5′11 and 190 lbs. The University has that at 5′10 but a powerful 215 lbs. Mark was a track star in Michigan, and if he is able to maintain that speed with the extra weight, he could make an impact on the RB rotation this fall.
Alfred McCullough made the move to Defensive End in the spring, and at 317 lbs. was too big for the position. He’s now listed at a slimmed down 292 lbs., much closer to the ideal weight for a DE in Nick Saban’s defense.
Marlon Davis appears to have shrunk 2 inches, from 6′4 to 6′2, but somehow managed to add 10 lbs to get him up to 300.
Antoine Caldwell also made the jump over 3-Bills, moving from 292 to 305 lbs.
Massive incoming JuCo Transfer Defensive Tackle Terrance Cody is listed at 380 lbs., down 15 from his listed weight of 395, and way down from his rumored A-Day weight of over 400.
Two Linebackers that everyone was hoping would add weight managed to do so, at least to some extent. Chavis Williams is now listed at 223 lbs., up from last year’s 214. Alex Watkins is also up, now at 225 lbs. (from 217).
There are lots of guys who made changes of 5-10 lbs., and even more whose weight changes less than 5 lbs. Also lots of guys had changes in height, some losing an inch (like Earl Alexander) and some gaining an inch (like B.J. Scott). We’re currently working to update our roster with the new jersey #s for the freshman, and all of the updated heights and weights.
If you haven’t noticed the tab at the top of the screen that says “roster”, locate it now. It still has the old roster on it, but within the next couple of days it should be updated to reflect all of the new information. [Ell - hopefully we'll have the roster corrected this weekend.]
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