The rich get richer as Alabama recently landed a massive player for their recruiting class of 2022 in Jaheim Oatis.
By Steve Wright
Jaheim Oatis is a 4-star defensive tackle prospect per the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is rated as the No. 149th player in the country, the No. 12 defensive tackle, and the third-best player in the state of Mississippi.
The 247Sports recruiting experts like the Crimson Tide commit, even more, rating him as the No. 82nd player nationally, the No. 8 defensive tackle, and the No. 1 player in the Magnolia State.
Oatis – out of Columbia (Columbia, MS) High School – is a monster of a human. He stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 249 pounds per his recruiting page, and he took the offer from ‘Bama over schools such as Georgia and LSU.
Oatis has been on the radar of Nick Saban for a long time. The school first offered the player a scholarship when he was in eighth grade, partly due to seeing him as a 6-foot-4, 286-pounder that was capable of running a 4.7 40-yard-dash time as a 14-year-old.
In the video below you can see Oatis dominating the high school football field as a sophomore. Trying to block Oatis one-on-one is a non-starter as he is just so big. This means that schools – even at the college level – will have to commit to double-teaming Oatis to keep him out of the play. What is impressive though is that Oatis doesn’t just rely on his size. He has an explosive first step and excellent lower body drive. He also flashes some pass-rushing moves and – having played tight end too – he is the type of player that Saban can build offensive strategies around in the red zeon, perhaps as a lead blocker or a fullback that can leak out into the flat.
Oatis – so long as he can keep his weight as a positive – will be a big-time player for Alabama soon.
Be the first to comment