TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — At this time last season, Jaheim Oatis didn’t think he’d see much of the field early at Alabama. Of course, that was roughly 100 pounds ago.
Oatis tipped the scales at a whopping 416 pounds during his high school days. Slimming down was always going to be part of the plan heading into college. However, the massive defensive tackle couldn’t have predicted he go through a transformation that would see him lose 70 pounds over his first seven months in the program. He certainly didn’t see himself starting 10 games while earning SEC All-Freshman honors.
"I didn’t think I was going to play because I weighed so much," Oatis said. "I came in, they were helping me with the weight."
Upon joining the team in January of 2022, Oatis quickly teamed up with Amy Bragg, Alabama’s director of performance nutrition. Together, the two formed a meal plan that ridded the defensive tackle of his previous eating habits while implementing a stricter diet of lean foods. Bread and rice were off the table while fast food became a thing of the past. Oatis says the toughest part might have been saying farewell to fried chicken.
But boy, did the sacrifice pay off.
Oatis was listed at 6-foot-5, 348 pounds during his freshman season last year. The new weight allowed him to add a little wiggle to his brute strength and ultimately saw him work his way into the starting lineup by Week 3. From there, the massive defensive tackle spent his first season chewing through double teams, recording 29 tackles, including two stops for a loss and a sack, to go with four quarterback hurries.
“For a guy that size to move like that, it’s crazy,” former Alabama linebacker Will Anderson said last season. “Sometimes, I get distracted watching film, watching him take on blocks. It’s like a steel wall, like he’s not moving. He gets those one-on-ones and he’s in the backfield like this fast. It’s great watching him.”
The weight continued to fly off throughout the season. In fact, Oatis says he’s now at around 320 pounds and is actually trying to bulk up a bit by the end of the spring.
“It’s a lot better losing all this weight,” Oatis said. “I’m breathing good, practicing better. When I had all that weight on me, it was a lot. Now that I lost all of it I feel better.”
Alabama should be feeling better, too. Heading into his sophomore season, Oatis is expected to step into a leadership position in a defensive line unit that loses two key seniors in D.J. Dale and Bryon Young. That role is one of a few things that fits him a little better these days.
