It's hard to say this one is a surprise, but it is disappointing news nevertheless. The rumors have been confirmed, and according to Mike Herndon of the Press-Register:
B.J. Scott, one of the jewels of Alabama's top-ranked 2008 recruiting class, is looking to transfer and may be headed to South Alabama, according to two sources close to the situation.
According to one of the sources, who asked not to be identified, Scott has not yet been granted a release from Alabama, but a transfer could be complete by the end of the week.
Again, this one really cannot be considered much of a surprise. Five-star recruit or not, any time a player gets all of one meaningful snap in three years, with a non-injury related redshirt thrown in during his true sophomore season, then something is clearly amiss. Most always thought his long-term position was cornerback, regardless of his theatrics at Vigor with the ball in his hands, but for whatever reason that transition just never worked out.
I'll be honest, his struggles are really nothing short of mystifying. He wasn't a character case, that much we know for certain, otherwise he wouldn't have lasted three years under Saban. A lot of people speculated that he could never grasp the playbook, but we've never seen anything at all to confirm that, and he was a good student in high school so I tend to doubt that was the case. Clearly he has talent and he was heavily recruited by every school in the country, so the fact that he couldn't get on the field with a coach with the position expertise of Saban -- who, just a year ago, literally put three kids in the NFL who most never thought were even legitimate SEC prospects -- will probably always be a mystery. His interception against Tennessee in Knoxville this season will end up being the only on-field contribution that anyone remembers him by.
Nevertheless, while he never put it together on the field, in many ways Scott served his purpose. His commitment to Alabama in July of 2007 played a major role in our re-taking of the recruiting hotbed of Mobile, and his commitment also helped us sign several other heavily recruited players because he helped our recruiting efforts tremendously down the stretch. Scott never did anything as a player, but he helped push a lot of other kids to Tuscaloosa who have done very well.
Wherever he ends up, and it looks like South Alabama for now, best of luck to him.