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Bama News
Pair of Alabama seniors returning for extra season in 2023
Darrian Dalcourt was honored on senior day last season, but will be back in 2023.
Two more of Alabama’s seniors from its 2022 roster will return for another season in 2023.
Offensive lineman Darrian Dalcourt and defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe were both listed Tuesday on the school’s updated roster for the spring.
Dalcourt is listed as a graduate student because he never redshirted and is using the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver for the 2020 season to retain eligibility for 2023.
Eboigbe is listed as a redshirt senior. After playing extensively over his first three seasons, Eboigbe’s 2022 season was cut short after four games because of a neck injury, allowing him to redshirt.
The return of both players had been expected after neither announced plans to enter the NFL draft. Dalcourt was honored on senior day in November but Eboigbe, also a senior last season, was not part of the ceremony.
The Tide will have a third fifth-year senior this season in kicker Will Reichard, who announced three days after the Sugar Bowl that he changed his mind about entering the NFL draft and would return to school. Reichard is using his COVID waiver and is listed as a graduate student.
Dalcourt has played in 33 games over four seasons, making 16 starts as a center. He has dealt with injuries the past two seasons and was limited to only seven games last season. After starting the first four games, he appeared in only three others. Seth McLaughlin started eight of the final nine games at center.
McLaughlin and Dalcourt could compete again for the starting center role in 2023, with James Brockermeyer returning for a third season at that position, too.
Eboigbe has played in 42 games with 14 starts over four seasons. He appeared as a reserve in the first four games of last season before his injury.
“We’re not going to allow him to play until we get the exact, most expert plan of action for him and his future,” Nick Saban said in early October.
Eboigbe tweeted “Back” on January 10, then “Good News” on Jan. 17. He could re-join a defensive line that lost DJ Dale and Byron Young to the NFL draft, but returns other experienced players in Jaheim Oatis, Tim Smith, Jamil Burroughs, Jah-Marien Latham and Damon Payne.
