TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama’s 12 January enrollees have been on campus for more than a month now and are learning the ebbs and flows of life as a collegiate student-athlete.

One of the toughest, and earliest, adjustments for most newcomers to the Crimson Tide football program is the strenuous workouts with strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran.

But several members of Alabama’s top-ranked, 2017 signing class have reacted differently to the workouts than past midyear enrollees. They arrived to Tuscaloosa prepared, or at least knowing what to expect, for Cochran’s infamous workout sessions.

“They’ve been intense,” said five-star quarterback and Honolulu, Hawaii, native Tua Tagovailoa on National Signing Day. “But it’s not like anything I haven’t seen or haven’t done.”

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Comments like those echo what a pair of early enrollees thought a season ago. Offensive tackle Jonah Williams and quarterback Jalen Hurts both embraced the grueling nature of the time spent in the weight room at Alabama. And both players combined for 29 starts in 2016.

There is no denying the difficulty of Cochran’s workout regime. The Fourth Quarter Program leaves players like departing offensive guard Alphonse Taylor sharing that as the one thing he will not miss about his time in Tuscaloosa, by way of social media.

Four-star tight end Major Tennison said “it makes you question (things) sometimes.” But he, too, has enjoyed them, citing his time at Bullard (Texas) High School as the root of that approach.

“My high school did a great job with weightlifting, and I’m very thankful for it. But it’s a lot different here,” Tennison said last Wednesday. “It’s been challenging and intense, but I love it. It’s what I signed up for, and I don’t regret it a single bit.”

The 6-foot-6 tight end is not alone. Long snapper signee Thomas Fletcher spent his high school career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. -- a place that is centered around athletics. There was an adjustment period for the two-star prospect, but only just.

“Coming from IMG, it was, from a workout standpoint, that transition was fairly seamless. We did basically the same stuff that they’re doing here,” Fletcher said. “The big difference was the tempo of the workout. It was much faster. No breaks, no water, no anything like that. For the first couple of days that was kind of a shock a little bit. But after that, it was just getting acclimated to it.”

Junior college transfer Isaiah Buggs landed at Alabama in similar fashion. The defensive end credited his JuCo strength coach for helping him transition to building his body under Cochran and growing accustomed to a similar philosophy in the weight room.

“Very energetic,” Buggs said of Cochran. “I knew how he was going to be before I even got here. I met him, so I was ready for it right away. I was ready for just about everything because everything we did at (Mississippi) Gulf Coast Community College, they do here.

“Stevon Moore, he’s a big (believer) in Nick Saban, so everything he just about taught us was everything that I just about did since I got here.”

While majority of the newcomers have adjusted well to workouts and the other challenges life in college presented them, others admitted the shock they experienced, coming from different programs and backgrounds than an academy or a junior college.

“It’s a totally different story from a 2A school coming to a big school like this,” four-star athlete Chadarius Townsend said. “Being able to work out fast-paced like that on a time limit, just feeling all kinds of soreness go through your whole body, I never really felt that in high school.”

Four-star wide receiver Tyrell Shavers shared the same reaction. The 6-foot-6, Lewisville, Texas, native said he has gained seven pounds since enrolling in January and is up to 205 with more than a month until spring practices begin. His weight goal for the start of the season is 215-220.

“It was different from my high school workouts because the transition from a small school in Texas to a major D-I school, the workouts are gonna be different,” Shavers said. “It was different, but I’m getting used to it now. They’re just more intense.

“At my high school, we didn’t have a coach for every person, so they just told us to do something and we would do it. But here, you’ve gotta do everything right.”

Most embraced or relished in the workouts before they even occurred, while some had to learn to love them. After more than four weeks as members of the Crimson Tide, however, all 12 of the January enrollees now look forward to their meetings with Cochran is his lab that is the weight room.

“I wake up at 5:15 to come over here and work out, and it’s not like waking up and crawling out of bed,” Fletcher said. “I wake up and I know by the time that I get over here that I’m gonna be ready to go just knowing how much he inspires you to work out.”

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