MOBILE, Ala. — Linebacker Charlie Higgenbotham has transferred from the University of Alabama to South Alabama and will be eligible to play immediately, Jaguars head coach Joey Jones announced Wednesday.
Higgenbotham spent three years at Alabama, including one as a redshirt, and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Jaguars.
Reunited With Jones
Listed at 6 feet and 220 pounds, Higgenbotham is from Birmingham and played for Jones at Mountain Brook High School before enrolling at Alabama. Over the past two seasons with the Crimson Tide, he appeared in 24 games and recorded 16 tackles and one sack. He was also named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll twice.
At Mountain Brook, Higgenbotham averaged 10 tackles per game over three seasons. As a senior, he was ranked 38th nationally among linebackers by Rivals.com, named first-team All-Metro by The Birmingham News and earned honorable mention all-state recognition from the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
Inaugural Season Approaching
Higgenbotham joins a South Alabama program preparing for its first season of football. Jones, a former Alabama receiver, was hired as the program’s first head coach after coaching at the high school level, including at Mountain Brook, and the Jaguars have spent the past year assembling a roster of signees, walk-ons and transfers.
The addition of a linebacker with SEC game experience gives the Jaguars a veteran presence on a roster made up largely of players who have yet to play a college game. The Jaguars open preseason practice Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The first game in school history is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, against Hargrave Military Academy of Virginia at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.
