Alabama deals with transfer of four players

Alabama left tackle Cam Robinson is the best and biggest advertisement the Crimson Tide can provide to future recruits.

The junior doesn’t have to say a thing, his 6-foot-6, 327-pound frames reveals it all. Robinson is visible proof that if a recruit is big enough and tough enough, he can come into Alabama’s program and make a difference from Day 1.

Robinson has started every game for the Tide since his freshman season. He will most likely continue to strengthen the university’s brand, as he projects to be a high first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft.

His story is the dream for the top talent Alabama continues to pump through its system. However, for several top prospects, it has also become the expectation.

Alabama has seen four players transfer from its program this summer. Sophomore safety Shawn Burgess Becker, sophomore receiver Daylon Charlot, redshirt freshman linebacker Adonis Thomas and freshman linebacker Christian Bell all left after failing to see substantial playing time early in their careers.

"I think that a lot of young guys right now, they get really, really fearful of their future and it creates a lot of anxiety," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during his press conferenceThursday. "They think if they change environments that's going to help solve that anxiety and help them be able to get where they want to go. We certainly feel like we can help guys develop here, but if they think that there's a better way for them, another place, then we're going to support them in every way that we can to help them do the things they would like to do if they don't want to be in our program here."

It can be intimidating and frustrating for incoming players to sit out a season, especially when that player enters the program as one of the top recruits in his state out of high school. Alabama sophomore center Ross Pierschbacher found himself in that situation, as he was redshirted during his first year despite coming to the Tide as the No. 1 player in the state of Iowa.

“I knew the type of talent that we had down here,” Pierschbacher said Thursday. “It’s hard to come in right away and be a Cam Robinson, you know not everyone can do that. I knew I was going to have to work really hard and earn my spot, and that’s the approach I took.”

While Pierschbacher’s approach ended up working for him, some incoming players find the process tougher to deal with. Fifth year senior defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson didn’t see much playing time his first two seasons with the Tide. The former four-star defensive tackle was redshirted his first year before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him the following year.

Though he is now fighting for a starting role on Alabama’s defensive line, Tomlinson can relate with incoming players waiting for their chance on the sidelines.

"Mentally I feel like it's a good and a bad thing, because if you let it affect you too much you might get demotivated to work hard and stuff like that," Tomlinson said Thursday. "But on the positive side it will be like you got this time to better yourself on the field so you'll be able to critique yourself how other people critique you like coaches and stuff as such and just get better as a football player."

During his press conference Thursday, Saban blamed “unrealistic expectations” placed on some recruits as a reason for anxiety among incoming players. He said the players who go to work from Day 1 typically make progress. Tide veterans agree that patience is vital.

“When you come in you kind of really got to be able to just kind of adjust to the fact that you might not be playing right off the bat,” Junior linebacker Rashaan Evans said Friday. “Every guy before me has done the same thing, so you have to have that mentality and just get better. Eventually, once the opportunity presents itself, you got to be ready.”

Despite four departures already, Alabama is still dealing with the impending transfer of defensive back Maurice Smith. The senior is looking to transfer to Georgia and is eligible to play for the Bulldogs after he graduating from Alabama on Saturday. However, an SEC by-law requires Alabama to first grant him a release in order to transfer to an in-conference school, something Saban said he is unwilling to do.

To add fuel to the fire, Georgia head coach and former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said Saturday he would allow a graduate player to transfer to an SEC school.

Smith was spotted donning an Alabama national championship hat before the Tide’s opening practice of fall camp on Thursday, but has not participated with teammates this preseason. He was not listed on the roster Alabama provided to the media. While speculation of his transfer still circulates around the program, players insist the drama of the situation is not bleeding onto the field.

“It’s easy to deal with, because you know what you have to come in here and do,” Tomlinson said. “You can’t let the off-field situations affect you off the field or on the field, because in certain ways it will affect you in the long run.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Alabama deals with transfer of four players."