Antonio Alfano‘s college career has yet to truly begin, and you have to wonder if it ever will.
The No. 5 overall prospect in Alabama’s 2019 class pretty much went AWOL in his first year on the team and was in the transfer portal by mid-October, his first on the team.
“I talked to our team today about the fact that people make mistakes,” Nick Saban said of Alfano in September. “We all mistakes. I make mistakes. Probably everybody in this room makes mistakes. We make mistakes as parents. We make mistakes as coaches. We make mistakes in just about everything that we do. But I think you compound the problem when you don’t confront the mistakes that you make and you create greater consequences for yourself because of the choices and decisions that you make after you make a mistake. So hopefully this will be a learning experience for all the guys on our team.”
Alfano transferred to Colorado in November, and it seems Saban’s words have proven unfortunately prophetic as his problems have followed him to a new destination.
According to Colorado head coach Karl Dorrell, DL Antonio Alfano, a transfer from Alabama "has been suspended indefinitely for violation of team rules.” Alfano arrived on campus in January. #cubuffs
— Brian Howell (@BrianHowell33) March 9, 2020
“It was just a trying time for me being down there,” Alfano told the Denver Post upon his arrival in Boulder. “I was kind of also a little frustrated, honestly, with not seeing as much playing time as I would like. I was a little frustrated with that and stuff going on back home. That just made my decision easier.”
The No. 1 strong side defensive end in 2019, Alfano will get umpteen chances to prove he can fly right, at Colorado and elsewhere. Here’s hoping for his sake that a third chance will be enough.