Alabama’s latest roster move comes with a backstory you don’t see every day.
The Crimson Tide are adding sophomore defensive lineman Josh Underwood, a transfer from UAB, according to Bama247’s Mike Rodak. The timing matters, too: Alabama had an opening after the season-ending ACL injury to DL Jeremiah Beaman, and Underwood’s arrival gives the group another body heading into Week 2 against SEC rival Kentucky.
Underwood’s name may ring a bell for more than football reasons. He was the player caught up in the stabbing incident at the UAB facility involving former teammate Daniel Mincey. The trouble started with a fight between Mincey and UAB defensive lineman JaSire Peterson, and Underwood wound up in the middle when he tried to break it up.
“In my mind, OK hey these guys are fighting, I need to try to break this up,” he said. “Not knowing when I went to grab my teammate to break up the fight, I see people standing around, waiting for someone to jump and make the first move and break it up.
“I jumped in, I went and grabbed my teammate, not knowing Mincey has a knife in his hand. When I went to grab my teammate, I felt something hit me in my hand. I thought it was just my hand smooshing between the door or wall or something.”
Both Underwood and Peterson were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and were able to continue their football careers.
As a football prospect, Underwood has taken a long road to get here. He was a zero-star recruit out of Fultondale High School in Birmingham and walked on at UAB. He didn’t play a snap as a true freshman, then entered the transfer portal a month after the incident.
Now he’s landing at Alabama, where the program has a history of turning overlooked players into meaningful contributors. Trae’shawn Brown, London Simmons and Lotzier Brooks are examples of players thriving in head coach Kalen DeBoer’s system.
The immediate question is whether Underwood will be cleared in time for the Kentucky game. Even if that happens, a big role right away seems unlikely. With so little college experience, he looks more like a developmental piece who can add depth to Alabama’s defensive line than an instant-impact player.
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