Chadarius Townsend accounted for more than 2,700 yards passing and rushing for Tanner this season.

The list of scout team players at football practices in Tuscaloosa this fall has been the who’s who of current and former Alabama players.

It all started last January when current starter Jalen Hurts enrolled early and played the roll of DeShaun Watson during Alabama’s preparation for the 2016 National Championship Game. Then former players like Trent Richardson, Blake Sims and John Parker Wilson returned to mimic opposing teams.

Add Chadarius Townsend’s name to that list.

Townsend graduated early from Tanner last month and enrolled at Alabama this week. After signing with Alabama last month, he immediately began practicing with the Crimson Tide as they prepare for another title game against Clemson.

“I’m excited and glad that he had an opportunity to do that,” said Townsend’s father, Dale Townsend. “That’s something he’s been working toward for a long time.”

For the past two years, Townsend has spent his summers in the classroom, working toward the goal of graduating early. His hard work paid off last month when he became the first Tanner student to graduate in December.

He is also the first Tanner player to receive a football scholarship at Alabama and just the third to play at an SEC school. After it became apparent Alabama was headed for another playoff appearance, Townsend set his sights on joining the team during bowl practice.

“That’s been the plan for a while — for him to get down and practice with them,” said Townsend. “He is on a pretty tough schedule this week, so I don’t know how much he has been able to do.”

After making the all-state first-team as a junior, Townsend had another stellar season for Tanner, which was eliminated in the third round of the 2A playoffs in November. The versatile playmaker finished the season with 1,481 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. He completed 67 of 101 pass attempts for 1,245 yards and 13 touchdown with eight interceptions.

“He is so good with the ball in hands. Guys like that, you have to get the ball to,” Tanner head coach Laron White said before last month’s Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game. “He can score anytime he touches it and I think they saw that. It’s the right thing for him to play offense.”

When he initially committed to Alabama in the summer before his junior season, most thought he would line up somewhere in the secondary for the Tide, as he did Saturday in last month’s Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game. But after putting up more than 2,700 yards of total offense and 35 touchdowns, Alabama’s coaching staff want the speedster on offense.

“They definitely want him on offense,” said Townsend. “The coaches said they want to use him like they did Kenyan Drake. He will coming out of the backfield and catching some passes. He will do some kickoff returns and punt returns.”

Recruiting process

Townsend committed to Alabama the summer before his junior season and stuck with his commitment until the end. He verbally committed to the Tide shortly after attending camp in Tuscaloosa where he received his first collegiate offer.

“It was exciting because a lot of schools are trying to get where Alabama is and to have that initial offer from them was big,” said Townsend. “To have that (offer) from the jump, we knew the sky was the limit. He was interested in visiting other schools, but there was nothing that made us want to change his commitment. He initial gave his word and wanted to stick to it.”

It’s been a big week for Townsend, who celebrated his 18th birthday Thursday by practicing alongside All-Americans in Tuscaloosa. While he is practicing with those players, Townsend is not eligible to play for Alabama until the 2017 season, but can continue practicing with the team this spring. He will officially begin school at Alabama on Jan. 11.

“Right now, he is trying to get used to the college life” said Townsend. “Everybody keeps asking me what number he will be. Whenever the game is over, they will give him his number.”