Alabama football tight end Robbie Ouzts isn't going home to South Carolina this weekend, as the Palmetto State is coming to him instead.
After a productive Tuesday practice , the senior, who hails from Rock Hill, told reporters he was "excited" to get back in the win column against the Gamecocks this week.
However, Saturday probably won't feature the "put-on-for-my-city" performance that comes to mind when a player faces a team from his home state.
Ouzts' stomping grounds behold of one of college football's most noteworthy rivalries in Crimson Tide former Dabo Swinney's Clemson and South Carolina .
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Although his family is a house divided, making for awkward Thanksgiving dinners, who won each year never really mattered to Ouzts.
"I was kind of always more of an NFL guy," Ouzts said.
Ouzts was courted by South Carolina back in 2020. Then Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp made a visit to Rock Hill High to watch him play basketball and Ouzts made way to Columbia within the next week.
By that June, one unofficial visit to Tuscaloosa saw Ouzts go all in on the Crimson Tide , who welcomed him on campus that winter. After all, Alabama offered him the best opportunity to join the one fandom he owned since childhood.
A self-proclaimed Carolina Panthers fan, Ouzts' NFL team helped him heal from Saturday's loss to Vanderbilt in an unexpected way.
Thank you, Bryce Young .
"It's the same situation as here," Ouzts said, comparing what's going down in Charlotte to recent ongoings in T-Town.
Young, an Alabama former , went to the Panthers as the first overall pick of the 2023 draft after leading the Crimson Tide to an 11–2 record and a victory in the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
Since a Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers this season, Young has found himself benched, only coming in for current starter Andy Dalton for the first time on Sunday during the fourth quarter of a blowout from the Chicago Bears .
And Ouzts is right. Young's fall from grace looks a lot like Alabama's drop from the No. 1 spot it held in the coaches poll after slamming Georgia to its new post of No. 7 following Vanderbilt.
"You know, you take a loss to Vandy. You take a temporary loss and get put on the bench. You've just got to learn from it and grow from it. That's the biggest thing," he continued.
"It happens to the best of us."
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Former Alabama QB Bryce Young's struggles help Crimson Tide recover before South Carolina
