AL is coming to Alabama. Standing at a monstrous 6’6”, 315 lbs, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood is ready to make waves in the SEC. “I’m most excited to go in and compete with the best of the best,” he said. “I’m excited to compete with the best of the best and eventually become one of the best of the best.”

While Leatherwood is looking to become one of the best in college football, he is already one of the top prospects in the Class of 2017. “I want to be able to lead, so that when I get to the next level, I can help my team win a national championship.”

 

    A few years ago, nobody could’ve ever guessed that Leatherwood would have a chance at playing for the defending national champions or playing college football at all. “I didn’t start playing until I was around 14 or 15 years old,” the high school Junior explained, “All of this attention has been nice to have, but sometimes it can become overwhelming. When I sprouted up like I did, I knew that I was talented enough to play ball at a high level.”

After he hit a growth spurt, Leatherwood soon realized that football could take him a long way. By June of his Sophomore year, Leatherwood had already received offers from Florida and Alabama, and while there were certainly more offers to come, Leatherwood knew that it was time to make his decision.

 

On June 2, 2015, Leatherwood announced his commitment to Alabama and soon, more offers began to pile in. “Before committing to Alabama, my only offer was Florida, but now I have either 10 or 11,” he said. While he continues to stay committed to Alabama, Leatherwood still makes sure to consider all schools, saying, “I’m still weighing my options, comparing and contrasting, but I want to wait until I can make visits to those schools before I can make any final decisions.”

Leatherwood has done a good job of staying committed to Alabama, while also examining the incoming offers that he receives. Now, Leatherwood holds offers from schools such as Florida State, LSU, and USC, and after visiting LSU earlier this year, he plans to visit other schools in the future: “I might go down to IMG in Tampa, so I can watch a Michigan game or Tennessee practices. I also might be going to Ole Miss soon. I know that I want to get out to Southern California this summer.”

    

Although he continues to explore other options, this offseason, Leatherwood has remained unrelenting in his pursuit of improving his game. “I feel like I didn’t play as well as I could have last season. I want to become a leader by becoming more vocal and leading by example. I need to be more interactive for my team and stand watch for other players.” Leatherwood said.

He’s already committed to play in the Under Armour All American Game next year, giving him the chance to prove to the nation that he’s the top offensive lineman in his class. If he can become a leader for his high school, Booker T. Washington (Pensacola, FL), then there’s no denying that he has a legitimate chance to rise to the top spot in the Class of 2017.

 

`    Now, with his senior year only a few months away, Alex Leatherwood is already prepared to go in and compete at Alabama. So far, Leatherwood has had an incredible high school career, and with expectations through the roof, he is definitely a player to watch in the Class of 2017. Get ready because "AL is Coming to Alabama".