Womack surprises family
Andrew Bone
TideSports.com Senior Recruiting Analyst
Matt Womack, three-star offensive tackle from Magnolia Heights High School in Senatobia, Miss., flipped his commitment from LSU to Alabama on Sunday. He caught his family off-guard with the sudden decision.
"Matt likes to keep everything tight-lipped," said David Womack, Matt's father. "He doesn't do a lot of talking. We didn't know he was going to do it until he told Coach Saban this afternoon. After the fact, he told us that he has been thinking about it the last few weeks.
"We are happy about his decision. We would have been happy anywhere he decides to go. It's always been his decision. We couldn't ask for anything better."
There were plenty of reasons for Womack's commitment to Alabama with the coaching staff's relentless pursuit.
"He felt like it was a better fit," his father said. "He liked the football family and the environment. He just thought it was a better fit. Coach Saban had a big smile on his face when he committed.
"Coach Napier and Coach Cristobal were giving each other high-fives. You could hear Coach Cochran over the whole facility. He is really excited about working with Matt. He is a big kid who Coach Cochran can put muscle on. He really wanted the opportunity to work with him. The whole staff was really pleased.
"Since they offered they have really worked on him hard. We went to Alabama's camp after we visited LSU. Matt did really well. Coach Saban told us at the time he was going to offer one tackle. He said he was going to watch the first three or four games and make a decision. That's what they did. Coach Saban has stayed in contact about once a week. They recruited him hard. They watched him play this year."
Womack isn't second-guessing his commitment to Alabama. He informed the coaches on Sunday afternoon his commitment is solid.
"Matt struggled with it," Womack said. "I talked to one of the coaches this morning before we ate breakfast at Coach Saban's house. I talked to Coach Kiffin. He asked me if I thought Matt was going to change his commitment.
"I told him I don't know, and that Matt was struggling with the fact he gave LSU his commitment and didn't know how to approach it. He struggled with it big-time. It's not the fact he wanted to change.
"Matt told LSU and Ole Miss that he committed to Alabama. He told them he was done with his recruitment. He doesn't want any further contact. He has already deleted their numbers from his phone and removed them from his Twitter. He is 100-percent with Alabama."
Davis Womack talked in-depth of the official visit weekend in Tuscaloosa.
"The visit was great," he said. "You would have thought Matt was only one there. That's how they made him feel. We had dinner at Chuck's. That was something. Everyone is clapping and saying 'Roll Tide' as they walked in. It's an eye-opener.
"We had breakfast the next morning. Coach Saban talked to us for a while. It was just a great visit. The coaches really went out and showed Matt a lot of attention and love. They really let him know they wanted him.
"We spent time with Coach Napier and Coach Crisotbal. We spoke with Coach Saban about five times. After he told him he was committed to Alabama Coach Saban wanted to see him again just to tell him how excited he was for Matt to be a part of the program.
"His host was Bradley Bozeman. A lot of the players had left because they had a day off. He saw six or seven of them last night. He spent some time with Blake Sims on Friday night. He's been talking to Bradley Bozeman since the last visit. He has been in contact with him and a couple of others like Austin Shepherd. He has talked to those guys since the Mississippi State game.
"The best part of the visit, at least for us, was going to Coach Saban's house on Saturday night. It was like a big family get together. Coach Saban was at the Heisman Award. It was like a very big family get together. It was very laid back."
Alabama is in need of tackles. That's the only position the Tide staff has discussed with the 6-foot-7, 330-pound lineman.
"They just said tackle," Womack said. "Coach Saban has told us that they are very short on tackles. He gave us some scenarios. Some of these shorter kids don't have the reach. Matt has a long reach on him. Matt doesn't mind redshirting, but Coach Saban said he would be shocked if Matt isn't in the two-deep next year."
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