Numbers

More than a few folks have asked me about the number situation at Alabama.

I will attempt to break it down - Understand this is the best information available to me - It may not be 100% correct but it is very close.

Right now on Campus We have 14 seniors.
Kyle Tatum
Marc Guillon
Ken Darby
Tim Castille
LeRon McClain
Jeffrey Dukes
Ramzee Robinson
Juwan Simpson
Jeremy Clark
Chris Harris
Terrence Jones
Dominic Lee
JP Adams - Who is a former walk on who was awarded a scholarship last year
Tyrone Prothro - Who most expect to take a red shirt year & return for the 2007 season.

So that is 13 Scholarship Guys and if JP Adams stays on Scholly as I expect he will be #14

We have 15 to 17 juniors.
Chris Capps
Justin Moon
Matt Caddell
Eric Grey
Demarcus Waldrop
Keith Saunders
Wallace Gilberry
Justin Britt
Marcel Stamps
Marcus Carter
Simeon Castille
DJ Hall
Keith Brown
Ezekial Knight
Trent Davidson

Now depending on factors
Travis Robinson could also be a junior - I don't know if he has red-shirted or not or if he will this year.
Matt Collins Was placed on scholarship last year - If as I suspect he remains on Scholarship he would be another Junior.

So if we add those 2 we would have 17 juniors.


Now as far as sophomores go we have 14.
Cody Davis
BJ Stabler
Antoine Caldwell
Nick Walker
Will Oakley
Nikita Stover
Aaron McDaniel
Bobby Greenwood
Chris Keys
Lionel Mitchell
Cory Reamer
Glen Coffee
Jimmy Johns
JPW
Travis McCall
Charles Hoke
Marlon Davis

The shirted Freshman class has 18
Mike Johnson
Evan Cardwell
Drew Davis
Jimmy Barnes
Ali Sharief
Roy Upchurch
Chris Rogers
Prince Hall
Baron Huber
Eryk Anders
Brandon Fanney
Zo Washington
Byron Walton
Zach Schreiber
Brandon Deadrick
Cole Harvey
Sam Brunthall
Travis Sikes

Then if you add the recruits from Last year
Stover already is counted as a red shirt sophomore but will come off the 25 limit allowed in 2006 and since he and Cole Harvey, Sam Brunthall, and Travis Sikes are already on campus they take 4 of the 25 spots. So we will have a max of 21 more out of
Taylor Pharr
Brian Motley
David Ross
Alex Stadler
Andre Smith
Preston Dial
Mike McCoy
Earl Alexander
Greg McElroy
Mike Ford
Terry Grant
Andy Davis
Tremayne Coger
Marquis Johnson
Justin Woodall
Jake Jones
Javier Arenas
Marcus Udell
Charlie Higgenthbotham
Charlie Kirschman
Labronski Hutchins
Milton Talbert

If all 22 are cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse then one will have to be a grey shirt and enter the class in December which would count against our numbers.

2 players of Note that have a very good chance of being placed on Scholarship in December are
Max Martin
Johnathon Lowe

So lets assume that everyone that is on scholarship now remains on scholarship. Lets also assume that all 22 Signees make it through the clearinghouse and one is grey shirted. Lastly let’s assume that Lowe and Martin the transfers from Michigan and Miss State are given full rides this December.

We would then have this fall
14 Seniors
17 Juniors
14 Sophomores
18 shirted Freshmen
21 True Freshmen

This falls Total Number would be = 84

In December we would add
Max Martin
Johnathon Lowe
The Grey Shirt from the 2006 class

We would also be loosing off of scholarship all 14 Seniors which would bring our numbers to

84 - 14 = 70

Then ADD the 3 December additions

70 + 3 = 73

The most you can have on scholarship at any given time is 85. Now this is where it gets tricky. According to the NCAA Rules that is 85 Initial counters or maximum 25 initial counters per year. An Initial Counter is someone who is recruited. If someone is not recruited and is a Walk-On and he earns a scholarship in his first 2 years he is counted as an initial counter. If he is rewarded a scholarship after paying his own way the first 2 years he does not count as an initial counter.

Now what I am not sure about is if they still count toward the 85 if they are not an initial counter. In the case of the Bryant Scholly as long as the Player does not play the first 2 years then he is not counted toward the 85 limit. Now if that were the case then JP Adams, and Matt Colins would not count toward the 85.

But to be safe I say that we have right now 12 spots for scholarships in the 2007 class.

Now that is the most conservative number - It could be as high as 16 right now. Granted we may even have 2 or 3 young men this summer ask for a transfer or just quit the team entirely. We also might not give out Schollies to the transfers or we may not have every one from the 2006 class be academically eligible - If that happens then the numbers for the 2007 class go up.

But as of right now - I expect to have a max of12 Schollies to give out in February 2007.

Please comment - Lord knows you almost have to be a tax law attorney to understand all of this - but I default to using the most conservative approach. There may be more spots open and if so great - It will be a welcome surprise.

Understand that we already have 3 commitments for the 2007 class. Does that mean we only have 9 spots left? Well using the conservative approach yes - only 9 more but I think we sign at least 11 more. We shall see.

Also If Tyrone Prothro or any other Senior Red Shirts due to medical reasons then that will be one less scholly available for the 2007 class.

Hope this helps.

Roll Tide
Clay