Honestly, the moment caught everyone off guard. Stepping to the middle of the media scrum, Joshua Casher instantly lit up.

"Where are the smiles?" he asked the surprised group of reporters Thursday afternoon. It was unexpected since the rising senior had never been to the interview room previously. And rookies are typically reserved.

Not Casher.

The redshirt senior from St. Paul's in Mobile spoke with voice of a motivational speaker. That's been mentioned to him as a future, he noted. It's notable since the big presence comes from one of the smaller offensive linemen. At 6-foot-1, 291 pounds, Casher is the lightest of the Alabama offensive line -- a full 59 pounds below Deonte Brown.

Entering his final Alabama season, Casher has been working with the first group at guard. He's not letting size be a factor in this competition.

"It really wouldn't matter if I was 6-7 or whatever, you know, I strive to push my teammates in every way," Casher said. "So, we try not to really focus on that. One thing I try to do is every day I go out on the field, as Coach Saban always talks about, with discipline and focus, and paying attention to detail and just trying to be the best player you can be."

His outgoing personality can't hurt in the effort to find cohesion among the offensive line.

Casher is popular with everyone in the locker room, it seems.

"Oh, he's just out of the world, man," defensive lineman Quinnen Williams said. "It's just like he comes with a smile, he comes with a big voice every day. So, when he says stuff, everybody just listens because as you can see, he has a big voice. You know what I'm saying? So, when he speaks up, everybody listens. Everybody will recall what he's saying. He's always positive. He's always speaks highly of everyone. So, everyone loves Cash."

Linebacker Jamey Mosley said he's part comedian, part hard worker. Pressed on what makes him funny, Mosley clammed up.

"I have to keep those in the locker room," he said with a grin.

Casher is also known on the team for his work with the Head Start program in Alberta City. The volunteer work started as community service for a class but working with the children became a passion.

There's something about the look he gets walking in the building.

"Just like when you come in, when they see a football player or a student athlete face they are just so happy just for us to take pride and really let them know that we care," Casher said. "So, I have enjoyed every moment of it."

Now, it could be his time to see meaningful playing time in his final collegiate season. Game action has been limited so far. As a third-year sophomore in 2016, Casher came off the bench to play 32 snaps against Mississippi State to record two knock-down blocks. He then broke his foot a few weeks later in the SEC Championship Game win over Florida.

The most time he got last year was 16 snaps in the Mercer win.

Coach Nick Saban likes the experience and knowledge Casher brings to an offensive line that lost only center Bradley Bozeman from 2017.

"He's got good explosion and good power," Saban said. "One thing he works hard to overcome is his size and I think he's proving to us every day that that's not at issue for him to be able to play. But I will say that there's probably seven or eight offensive linemen that are all in competition for positions and he's one of those guys."

A big opportunity comes Saturday afternoon in the first of three spring scrimmages in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.