Alabama offers Rivals250 OL from Finland
Olaus Alinen, 2023 four-star offensive tackle from Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut, had not played a down of competitive football in the United States until this fall. He was born and raised in Finland. He started playing football for a youth team (under-15) which was coached by his father.
Alinen made the move to the Connecticut in January. The COVID-19 pandemic kept him and his new teammates from practicing in the spring. He spent time working out, training and acclimating with his new surroundings.
He received several scholarship offers before moving to the U.S., and continued throughout the spring and summer. He returned home to Finland during the summer, but attended camps at Alabama and Georgia Tech. He impressed Alabama during his performance in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama wanted to see how he performed in a live game during the fall before deciding to extend an offer. He spoke with offensive line coach, Doug Marrone, on Friday morning who informed him Alabama was ready to offer.
"It was a dream come true for me," Alinen. said. "I talked to Coach Marrone. He said he watched my tape with Coach Saban, told him about our good relationship, and they wanted to offer me.
"I went to a camp at Alabama in early June and have been in touch with them since. I will 100-percent go back. I had never seen anything like it."
The opportunity to work with Tide's offensive line coach was a highlight of Alinen's trip to Tuscaloosa in June.
"Coach Marrone is a legend and most importantly a great guy," he said. "I enjoy having conversations with him. I enjoyed his style of coaching as well.
"The Alabama camp was a great experience and the atmosphere was unique. I enjoyed working with Coach Marrone.”
Alimen said he spoke with his family, who remains in Finland, about his offer from Alabama. He noted they were "super excited" and understands the significance of an offer from the defending national champions.
"They knew it was a great deal for me," Alinen said. "I feel like it is the most prestigious program in college football based on winning and producing NFL talent."
The 6-foot-7, 300-pound lineman has a few early favorites which includes Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon and Stanford.
Order Andrew Bone's new book: ‘The Road to Bama’
