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The Tuscaloosa News
Why Alabama football TE Danny Lewis' return after portal entry is big for Crimson Tide
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Why Alabama football TE Danny Lewis' return after portal entry is big for Crimson Tide
Alabama football's biggest addition in the winter transfer portal window comes from a Crimson Tide player's decision to come back.
Danny Lewis Jr., a 2022 three-star tight end out of New Iberia, Louisiana, will withdraw his name from the NCAA transfer portal and return to the Crimson Tide in 2025, Hunter Kirsch of Lionheart Sports Agency confirmed to the Tuscaloosa News.
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Lewis' production through three seasons with the Crimson Tide has not been extensive. In three years, he has one catch for five yards, while playing a role on both offense and special teams.
But heading into his fourth year at Alabama , Lewis' role could grow extensively.
What Danny Lewis' return means for Alabama football
Mar 21, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Tight end Danny Lewis Jr. catches a pass during practice at the University Alabama Thursday.
Two of Alabama's top tight end options are set to depart the Crimson Tide after 2024 in C.J. Dippre , who had 19 catches for 238 yards, and Robbie Ouzts , who played both full back and tight end for the Crimson Tide.
Heading into 2025, Alabama has its share of young tight end talent, headlined by Marshall Pritchett and Kaleb Edwards: the Crimson Tide's two tight end additions in the 2025 recruiting class. But it's a position, tight ends coach Bryan Ellis said, that is not meant for young players.
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"I think the tight end position, for the most part, is a developmental position," Ellis said. "It's like playing O-line. It's hard to come as an 18-year-old kid and compete with a 22-year-old grown man week in and week out in the trenches. It's not hard to be a wide out and do it as a freshman. I shouldn't say it's not hard. It's much easier. When you have to live in the trenches and live in the world that we live in in the tight end room, the physicality that it takes, the toughness that it takes is just so above and beyond a lot of other positions. They're well aware of what they are walking into. But they are also aware, … they're smart enough and self-reliant enough to know when I go out there, I'm going to be ready."
Alabama has one piece seemingly secured for 2025 in Josh Cuevas, the Washington transfer who had 15 receptions for 213 yards and a touchdown in 2024, who could return for his redshirt senior season.
Alabama was looking for veteran help at tight end, hosting Arkansas transfer tight end Luke Hasz for a visit, who ended up committing to Ole Miss .
With Lewis, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end, Alabama has that veteran piece in a room that includes Cuevas, Pritchett, Edwards and Ty Lockwood, giving the Crimson Tide much more of a cushion for its future at the tight end position.
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Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Danny Lewis to return to Alabama football after entering transfer portal
