Alabama coach Nick Saban has offered an explanation for defensive lineman Antonio Alfano's absence through the first two weeks of the season, saying Alfano "basically quit."
"He quit going to class, he quit coming here. We tried to encourage him, we tried to help him," Saban said (via the Montgomery Advertiser). "We had tried to set up counseling sessions with him to help him every way we could. And all those things are still available to him if he wants them, but he didn't respond to any of the things, so until he responds, you just have to assume the guy quit."
Saban said last week that the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2019 class “disappeared a little bit." He hasn't practiced with the team since Sept. 3, and he didn't play in Alabama's first three games against Duke, New Mexico State and South Carolina. Saban cited Alfano's absence against NMSU for disciplinary reasons, explaining there was an "academic" element.
“People make mistakes. We all make 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," Saban said last week.
“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. And so hopefully this will be a learning experience for all the guys in our team.”
Alfano's parents explained on their joint Twitter account last week that the defensive lineman requested to enter the NCAA transfer portal to "see what his options are.”
The University of Alabama has been extremely supportive and I couldn’t ask for better support from them.
— Frankie-Hilda Alfano (@frankalfano76) September 13, 2019
Yesterday, Antonio asked to be placed in the transfer portal to see what his options are.
They also wrote: "Antonio’s grandmother recently fell very ill and is still fighting on life support. He is very close with her. Since this illness took effect, Antonio has taken it very hard. He has not attended classes and practices."
The 6-4, 285-pound Alfano is a native of New Jersey.