When Josh Cuevas and Marshall Pritchett went down with injuries late in spring practice, it left Alabama football in a tough spot. The Crimson Tide, already lacking Danny Lewis Jr. due to an injury of his own, only had one scholarship tight end left.
That was Jay Lindsey, a redshirt freshman with one career catch to his name. Lindsey had to take the majority of first-team reps for the rest of the spring, and and impressed offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb along the way.
“He did a good job,” Grubb said Monday, speaking to reporters in Tuscaloosa. “ It was great. You know, Jay, you always look for those type of opportunities where somebody has to make an impact in a tough stage. For Jay to have to step in in that role and really take over after the rest of the guys that went down, he got better. I mean, it was kind of necessity as a mother of invention, right? And for Jay, it certainly was it. And I thought he answered the bell well. “
The 6-foot-5, 258-pound Lindsey hails from Butler, and joined the Crimson Tide in the 2024 recruiting class after playing his high school football at Patrician Academy. He played in three games as a true freshman, with appearances against Western Kentucky and Wisconsin, and his first career catch against Mercer.
He took the first-team reps at tight end during the Tide’s A-Day open practice on Saturday. Behind him, before the other scholarship players return, there’s a slew of walk-ons, including Peter Knudson, Jayden Hobson and Lane Whisenhunt.
After all the extra reps, Grubb gave his assessment of Lindsey’s development.
“I thought for him, pass catching and things like that, you know, being able to separate and find opportunity at the second level was something that he needed to work on and I thought he did a good job with that,” Grubb said. “You know, I think that Jay can be a run blocker kind of guy like your true anchored Y that gets a couple throws here and there but is kind of that tough guy mentality, and I thought he showed up.”
Alabama will return to the practice field for preseason camp ahead of its 2025 season-opener against Florida State. The Crimson Tide will travel to Tallahassee on Aug. 30 to begin Kalen DeBoer’s second season in charge.
