Nick Saban says 5-star freshman Antonio Alfano has 'kind of disappeared a little bit'

In Alabama’s Week 2 win over New Mexico State, freshman defensive lineman Antonio Alfano, a former 5-star recruit, did not dress. When Saban was asked about Alfano’s absence after the game, he revealed that Alfano was dealing with some “discipline issues.” At a Wednesday press conference, Saban was asked if he had an update on Alfano.

“Not really. He’s kind of disappeared a little bit,” Saban told reporters.

After directly answering the question about Alfano, Saban began talking about mistakes.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Saban started, going on to say, “I think you compound the problem when you don’t confront the mistakes you make and you create greater consequences for yourself.”

“I hope this will be a learning experience for all the guys on our team,” Saban added.

Not to unfairly put words in Saban’s mouth, but those two brief quotes on Alfano’s situation strongly suggest he won’t be playing in a Crimson Tide football game any time soon.

Alfano, a Colonia, New Jersey native, was rated the No. 1 strong-side defensive end in the 2019 class on the 247Sports Composite. He enrolled at Alabama in January of 2019.