TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Freshman defensive lineman Antonio Alfano has missed all three days of practice this week and was not on the field for Alabama’s home opener this past weekend.

Following Saturday’s game against New Mexico State, head coach Nick Saban said Alfano was “going through some discipline things with me” and could return if he makes the right decisions.

In his last press conference before traveling to Columbia, S.C., for the Crimson Tide’s SEC opener at South Carolina this upcoming weekend, Saban was asked if he had an update on Alfano.

“Not really,” Saban said Wednesday. “He’s kind of disappeared a little bit.”

Alfano is not in the NCAA transfer portal as of Wednesday afternoon. The former 5-star recruit also missed three of the team’s practices in preseason camp “for personal reasons” last month.

The Colonia, N.J., native was the Tide’s highest-rated recruit in its 2019 No. 1-ranked class as 247Sports’ No. 1 overall prospect. Alfano earned first-team all-state honors at Colonia High School after a senior season that saw him record 76 tackles, including 28 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 10 quarterback hurries and six forced fumbles. He also saw time as an offensive lineman.

Alfano enrolled early at Alabama in January, and the 6-foot-4, 285-pound lineman recorded two sacks in April’s spring game. But he has not played in either of UA’s first two games this season.

“I talked to our team today about the fact that people make mistakes,” Saban said. “We all mistakes. I make mistakes. Probably everybody in this room makes mistakes. We make mistakes as parents, we make mistakes as coaches. We make mistakes in just about everything that we do.

“But I think you compound the problem when you don’t confront the mistakes that you make and you create greater consequences for yourself because of the choices and decisions that you make after you make a mistake. So hopefully, this will be a learning experience for all the guys on our team.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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