Alabama DL Phidarian Mathis Announces Decision to Declare for NFL Draft

The leader of Alabama's defensive line is officially off to the next level as Phidarian Mathis announced his decision to declare for the NFL Draft over social media Wednesday night.

After accepting an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl last month, Alabama defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis made his departure from the Crimson Tide official Wednesday night when he announced he will be declaring for this year’s NFL Draft.

“First, I would like to thank God for giving me such a fantastic opportunity to play football at the collegiate level,” Mathis posted over social media. “To my family and loved ones, who have supported me throughout this five-year journey, I would like to thank you for EVERYTHING! To my brothers, I love you all for life, and I’m always one call away; no one can ever take away all the memories I’ve built with you guys. We are forever locked in! (B Psi Phi!!)

"Coach Saban, thank you for giving me a chance to represent this University to the fullest. Thank you for believing in me and helping mold me from a young boy into a young man I’m forever grateful for you, GOAT.

“To all my Defensive line coaches, thank you guys for showing me the game, but most importantly, thank you, Freddie Roach. Thank you for being by my side no matter what, letting me be me, and always keeping it real with me. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from you, and I know you will always be one call away; you are the realist in my eyes. Thank you, Big Dawg.

“As this chapter in my life comes to an end, I am excited to see what the future may hold. With that being said, I’ll be declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft. ROLL TIDE FOREVER!”

Mathis, a redshirt senior, could have elected to return to Alabama for one more year by taking advantage of the blanket eligibility waiver granted to players due to COVID-19. Instead, he is taking his talents to the NFL where he has been projected as a Day 2 selection in this year’s draft.

Mathis appeared in 15 games this season, making 12 starts while playing at defensive tackle and defensive end. The 6-foot-4, 312-pound defender recorded 53 stops including 12 for a loss and nine sacks. He also tallied six quarterback hurries, two pass deflections and a forced fumble.

In addition to his contributions on the field, Mathis was named one of four permanent team captains by his fellow players.

“It means a lot,” Mathis said of the honor last month. “Just coming, when I was coming in as a freshman, I got to see how the program was ran and at the end of the season, you could just see all those great guys become captains. Just for me to be mentioned as one, it’s something that I always wanted to do since I got here as a freshman, and I think it paid off and I’m just appreciative of my teammates of looking at me like that.

“Like I told them, I’d do anything for those guys and I’m always going to be around to motivate them. I’m always going to be one call away. I just appreciated them looking at me as a team captain and I always will be one for them.”

Mathis will don a Crimson Tide helmet one final time next month as he is set to participate in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 5 in Mobile, Ala. The defensive lineman is the first Alabama player to declare for the draft this year. Players have until Monday to make their draft decisions. This year’s NFL Draft will take place in Las Vegas from April 28-30.