Early Enrollees Get Early Taste of Alabama Football

Some 2023 recruits have the chance to get acclimated early as Alabama prepares for the Sugar Bowl.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football had its first practice of the bowl season Friday afternoon, and there are a lot of faces that are no longer there after entering the transfer portal, including Traeshon Holden, Javion Cohen and Khyree Jackson, among others.

But for all the guys who are out, there are several new faces coming in as a handful of 2023 recruits have chosen to enroll early:

• Offensive linemen Wilkin Formby, Myles McVay and Ryqueze McElderry

• Quarterback Eli Holstein

• Defensive lineman Hunter Osborne

• ATH Brayson Hubbard

Early enrollees are ineligible to participate in the Sugar Bowl against Kansas State, but head coach Nick Saban talked about how valuable it is for those players to get an early taste of college football.

"They have to go through acclimation," Saban said. "It's beneficial that they're in meetings, they have a chance to learn, they get on the field, they learn something every day.

"To help their development, I think this is a huge advantage for them."

Saban also said that the recruits will only get so many reps because the time will come that the focus will shift to who will play in the Sugar Bowl. That isn't entirely a bad thing, however, as high school football ended about a week ago, and depending on playoff success, the recruits could've played anywhere between 12-15 games.

Still, the amount of practice they willl get will be more than the amount of college football practice they had before enrolling early, which is zero. And the transition from high school to college, from the practices to the team meetings to the day-to-day tasks it takes to succeed at Alabama, will take time. But going through the growing pains now will ultimately pay off when next season comes and more players will be prepared.

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