Alabama added a big piece to its 2020 class on Wednesday evening as North Carolina grad transfer tight end Carl Tucker committed to the Crimson Tide over Florida State.

A former member of the 2015 class out of Cornelius (N.C.) William Amos Hough High School, the 6-foot-2, 248-pound tight end has one year of immediate eligibility remaining.

“It feels good,” Tucker told BamaOnLine of his decision. “It’s a completely different feeling.”

After returning home from his visit to Tuscaloosa over the weekend, Tucker called special teams and tight ends coach Jeff Banks on Tuesday to tell him he wanted to commit. He informed Nick Saban of his decision on Wednesday morning.

“He was happy about it,” Tucker said of Saban’s reaction. “He was happy that I made the decision. He’s good at not showing any emotion, so I couldn’t really tell over the phone, but he was happy with the decision. He was glad I’ll be there.”

Tight end is a position of need for Alabama entering the 2020 season. Tucker is looking forward to the opportunity to be used in the offense.

“Really just I’m able to block and they see me on the field in a lot of different ways,” he said of the Tide’s plan for him. “Being able to be one-on-one with a ‘backer, or create mismatch problems with a corner or safety. To have so many weapons, they think me being out there would help open everybody else up or vice versa.



“With Irv Smith, I feel like they feel we’re the same body type. They’ve had so much success with tight ends with that kind of body type. They have the blueprint of what I would need to do to be a better player or more successful player.”

The Tide’s quarterback situation also factored into Tucker’s decision.

“I had my visit with Mac Jones,” he said. “I was with him Saturday night. Talking to him and seeing his mindset, and how good of a player he is, that played a role. That gave me confidence for me coming in. If I do what I’m supposed to do, I have somebody who’s confident in the backfield to get us the ball.”

Tucker will enroll at UA this summer. Until then you can find him in the gym. ?

“Train my behind off,” he said of what he’ll be doing this spring. “I know that being at Bama is a different mentality, so I’m going to be working extremely hard to prepare myself to play at a higher level. I know going there is going to challenge me mentally and physically, but that’s why I chose there because every single day I’ll be getting better. So while I’m home around here, I’m just going to be training like there’s no tomorrow.”