Pete Golding opens up about Alabama DL Jaheim Oatis' physical transformation

Jaheim Oatis has held an Alabama football scholarship offer since he was in middle school. That’s right, the Crimson Tide staff, led by defensive coordinator Pete Golding in his particular recruitment, identified Oatis early and struck with the offer. Most seniors in high school have trouble saying no to Alabama when that letter from Nick Saban comes in the mail. You can only imagine how surreal the experience must have been for an eighth grader to get the call.

At last, Oatis finally graduated high school in 2022, making good on his commitment to the Tide to enroll and play for this fall’s team. Golding is certainly thrilled to finally have the big fella on campus. Here was what the ‘Bama DC said when asked about Oatis and his growth since he started recruiting him.

From eighth-grader to Alabama freshman

“For Jaheim, obviously he’s from Mississippi so I recruited Jaheim. So to see his transformation over a four year period. You know, because Jaheim firsy came to camp here in eighth grade. And he got an offer in eighth grade. Obviously, you could see spurts on tape throughout his high school career. That he could be really special. And then you can see a lot of plays where he’s taking a play off. You know, I was like…okay, that’s going to get us beat.”

But even during his inconsistencies, Pete Golding remained confident that the good head on Oatis’ shoulders would eventually drive him to greatness.

“So, you know, most exciting thing for me: Jaheim, he’s always been a great kid. But like, when he accepted to come to Alabama, he knew what it was going to take. He knew it was going to be hard. He could have gone to a lot of other places where he wasn’t asked to do what he’s gonna be asked to do here. And he knew weight was the biggest thing and that’s what we had to focus on. That ended up being one of his biggest decisions to come here was the nutrition, the strength and conditioning to be able to develop him and get him down to where he needed to be to play good, winning football. And he’s done an unbelievable job of that. You know, so I’m excited about him.”