Kendall Randolph addresses grandpa jokes, best one he's heard in Alabama locker room

Some of Kendall Randolph’s freshman classmates at Alabama in 2017: Tua Tagovailoa, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Mac Jones, Jedrick Wills and DeVonta Smith. While the players around him jetted off to the NFL after any number of years at Alabama, Randolph — formerly a four-star offensive tackle recruit — remains in Tuscaloosa.

Randolph’s sixth-year senior status makes him comfortably one of the old men of the team — among the players, at least. (Alabama head coach Nick Saban is approaching his 71st birthday this fall.) Still, grandpa jokes are only natural and Randolph is fine with being on the receiving end.

“So the grandpa jokes,” Randolph said after being asked recently, “That’s pretty funny because I do hear that sometimes. And I’m not offended by it, because at the end of the day, we are all here grinding for the same reason. And we all want to keep pushing to make it to the highest level possible. So, you know, six years ago I would say that I just saw myself being in the position to continue what I — keep on striving toward my dreams.”

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Despite coming to Alabama as an offensive tackle, Randolph has bounced around and made 13 starts as a tight end in his career, almost exclusive as an extra blocker. Grandpa jokes aside, all the time with the Crimson Tide means Randolph is a seasoned vet, with 41 career appearances under his belt.

As for the best jokes? Randolph didn’t share a specific, but did remember a time when his younger teammates learned that his birth year started with a “1.”

“They just say — I think one time we talked about what year we were born and I was hearing some guys say they were born in like 2003 or like 2002,” Randolph said chuckling. “And they said, ‘Kendall, what year were you born?’ I said, ‘1998.’ They just made some comments about that, but it didn’t go to far.”