WALK-ON AT ALABAMA PAYS BIG DIVIDENDS
ALA.» College TUSCALOOSA, coaches didn’t pay much attention to Levi Wallace in high school, and when they did he told them he wasn’t interested in playing football any more.
“I was done with it,” Wallace said.
Luckily for Alabama, he changed his mind with encouragement from his dad, who later died of ALS. Then a skinny 160-pound cornerback, Wallace walked on with the topranked Crimson Tide in 2014. He didn’t touch the field for his first two seasons or crack the starting lineup until Game 2 of his senior year.
Now, he’s an emerging star on one of the nation’s best defenses, a potential early-round NFL draft pick who was a first-teamer on AP’s midseason All-American team.
The 6-foot, 183-pounder earned a scholarship before last season. He replaced Trevon Diggs in the starting lineup after a strong performance against Florida State.
Wallace leads Alabama with three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown against Mississippi. He ranks sixth nationally with 12 passes defended.
“We’ve had a lot of walkons through the years that have done a really good job of becoming contributors to the team,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “Levi’s probably done it as well as any of them.”
Suspended Gators could get reprieve.
Seven suspended Florida players, including standout receiver Antonio Callaway, are entering a pretrial intervention program that could result in the dismissal of felony credit card fraud charges.
State Attorney Bill Cervone filed paperwork with the Alachua County court that showed the outcome of a month-long investigation. The players will need to make restitution and comply with probation protocols over the next 12 months to get the charges dropped without any legal findings. The intervention agreements still need to be approved by a judge in the coming weeks.
Callaway, running back Jordan Scarlett, defensive lineman Keivonnis Davis, defensive lineman Richerd Desir-Jones, linebacker James Houston, linebacker Ventrell Miller and receiver Rick Wells were charged with fraudulent use of a credit card and identity theft.