TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The most talked about player following Alabama’s scrimmage was the one not allowed to participate.
Freshman linebacker Ale Kaho was seen in an Alabama jersey for the first time after joining the team following his release from Washington earlier this week. Despite signing his National Letter of Intent to Washington, Kaho never enrolled in school, making him eligible to play for Alabama this season. Saturday, Saban shed some light on the events that led the Reno, Nev., native to Tuscaloosa.
“As I understand it, he was unable to get into school for academic reasons, not because of an institutional policy, not because of NCAA rules,” Saban said. “He could get into school at most of the institutions, so he had opportunities to go to other places. He didn’t want to sit out and continue to try to take other classes so he could go to the school that he signed at. And we were one of the people who recruited him. It came down to the wire in terms of whether we got him or not, so when he got his release, we let him know that he had an opportunity to come here, and we’re glad to have him. He’s a very good player.”
Kaho was rated as a four-star and was the No. 82 player overall in the 2018 class. During his senior season of high school, he earned High Desert League Player of the Year, playing as a defensive end, running back and punter while leading Reno to a 12-2 overall record and the semifinals of the NIAA 4A state playoffs.
Saturday, the 6-foot-3 defender was seen with Alabama’s middle linebackers wearing a No. 10 jersey and shorts with no pads. Kaho participated in drills with the unit but will have to take part in the NCAA’s acclimation process before he can dress out in full pads. After Saturday’s workout, he will need to go through one more practice in a shirt and shorts. He will then be required to go through two additional practices in shorts and shoulder pads before he can don full pads. Alabama will take Sunday off before returning to the practice field on Monday, meaning the earliest Kaho could dress out in pads is Thursday.
Following the scrimmage, Saban was asked how challenging it will be to get Kaho up to speed as Alabama moves closer to its season opener against Louisville on Sept. 1. The head coach seemed annoyed with the question, stating he was “going to do the best we can every day.”
“I don’t know how hard it’s going to be; it depends on how fast he learns,” Saban said. “It depends on a lot of things, so what kind of condition is he in, what can we do with him. It’s a lot of questions. They’re not bad questions; we’re glad to have the guy here. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to help him be successful as a person, as a student and as a player. But how he’s going to take, I don’t know.”
Saban then frustratedly picked up the bottle of Coca-Cola on his podium to add to his statement.
“I wish this was a magic wand,” Saban said waving the Coke bottle. “I’m not the Wizard of Oz.”
While that might be true, Saban’s ability to land Kaho helped Alabama achieve one of its biggest wishes this offseason: to build depth at the inside linebacker position. Earlier this offseason, Alabama lost two of its reserves at the position as Keith Holcombe elected to focus on his baseball career and VanDarius Cowan was dismissed from the team.
