According to published reports by Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register, Alabama signee Ivan Matchett has academically qualified. He will report to Tuscaloosa in the next few days and enroll in the second summer session.
Though the news is a bit expected, it's still good to hear. Matchett was expected to qualify all along, but ended up having to unexpectedly re-take a class. After taking the class in Mobile this past month, he got an 'A' and is now ready to move on. It's good news for the Tide because, though it's not definite, there is a legitimate chance that Matchett could see some playing time this season. We need a physical inside runner, and that is Matchett's forte.
With the recent news, the 2008 recruiting class is all but in the books. There were 30 signees, and four will not enroll -- Kerry Murphy and Brandon Lewis (academics), and Destin Hood and Melvin Ray (MLB). Right now there is only one uncertainty left on the board, and that is Devonta Bolton. Hopefully we'll hear something on him in the next few days, but even if he qualifies we can put Neighbors on the Bryant Scholarship and still have only 25 signees enrolling. All worries about trimming this class down to 25, as expected, have turned out to be wholly unfounded.
We'll pass along the news with Bolton once it comes across, but there is nothing to report at the moment. I'm assuming that he will not be enrolling for the second summer term (at least if he is, we should hear about it soon), but there is a possibility that he will report in August, too.