A well-traveled former Alabama football is on the move. Again.
In February of 2019, Eyabi Anoma entered his name into the NCAA transfer database. A couple of days later, the player pulled his name from the portal, a signal that he intended to remain a part of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Five months later, however, it was confirmed that Anoma was no longer enrolled in classes at UA.
In August of last year, Anoma transferred from Alabama Crimson Tide football to Houston. At the time of his transfer destination being confirmed, it was reported that Anoma was first suspended by Alabama and then expelled for a vague “university-level issue.” Then, in February of this year, Anoma was dismissed by UH for violating unspecified team rules. That, not surprisingly, led to Anoma entering the portal yet again.
On Twitter late last week, the linebacker announced that he will be transferring to FCS Tennessee-Martin. And also offered up a mean culpa to his two previous programs.
“I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me,” Anoma wrote. “It has been very draining emotionally, physically and mentally. However, I would like to apologize to the staff and my teammates at the University of Alabama as well as at the University of Houston for my actions prior to today. I am learning [every day] that every action has a consequence, and it is my responsibility to decide whether or not my actions will be positive or negative. As a young man, I can only take things one day at [a] time and continue to transition into the man [God wants] me to be.
“I want to say thank you to my supporters and family for not giving up on me when things started to get difficult.”
— Eyabi Okie (@TherealEyabi) June 6, 2020
The initial reports of Anoma considering a transfer from Alabama early last year came a little over a month after head coach Nick Saban confirmed that, in the midst of preparing for the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with Oklahoma, Anoma “had a personal day… to sort some things out.” A tweet around the same time also caused some to think Anoma was considering a transfer, although the player later downplayed such a notion.
A five-star member of the Crimson Tide’s 2018 recruiting class, Anoma, who also considered Maryland and Michigan, was rated as the No. 1 weakside defensive end in the country; the No. 1 player at any position in the state of Maryland; and the No. 4 player overall on 247Sports.com‘s composite board. Anoma was Alabama’s top-rated signee in that recruiting cycle.
As a true freshman, Anoma played in 11 games and was credited with nine tackles (two for loss), although his role wasn’t as expansive as some thought it’d be.
Anoma didn’t see the field at all for the Cougars this past season as he was forced to sit out the 2019 campaign to satisfy current NCAA bylaws.
