TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama tight end Miller Forristall couldn’t wait to talk about the Crimson Tide’s newest scholarship player. The redshirt junior knew he was ahead of fellow tight end Giles Amos in the interview line and was waiting anxiously for a question about the former walk-on.
A little more than two minutes into the interview, he got his wish.
“You talking about Trailer-park Jesus?” He said, referencing Amos. “Giles Amos? Oh, it’s Trailer-park Jesus. The coaches have coined him that name.
“I’m going to go ahead and say it, I couldn’t be happier for any guy.”
Amos, a senior from Perry, Ga., joined the Crimson Tide as a walk-on in 2016 after failing to receive any college offers coming out of high school. He has a Rivals page but was not rated.
“I got offered by Valdosta State and the same day they offered me, they called me back later and said they offered another guy and rescinded it,” Amos said. “I really didn’t have many options and this was kind of like a last-minute thing. I sent my film up here. I didn’t think to send my film here before because I was like, if nobody else wants me, why would Alabama? I got feedback that said to come visit and they said you could come and be a preferred walk-on. So I just kind of took it and ran with it and here we are. It paid off and I wouldn’t change it for any other way.”
Three years later, the 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end is third on Alabama’s depth chart. Not only that, he received a nice surprise last week when he was granted a scholarship from head coach Nick Saban.
“It happened in the team meeting room the last day of camp,” Amos said. “We were breaking up to go to position groups and Coach Saban was like ‘Wait, I have one more thing to say.’ And he said ‘Giles, you’re going to be on full scholarship this fall. And it was really cool and unexpected and that made it even better. I appreciate Coach Saban for that. It was awesome.”
It’s been a long time coming for the long-haired, bearded tight end, who has been a favorite in the Crimson Tide’s locker room for a while. Amos has made a name for himself since joining the program, raising eyebrows with his athleticism and hustle on the scout team. However, it wasn’t until Alabama’s Fourth Quarter program earlier this year that he earned his new nickname.
“I was running around a cone or something and all of a sudden I hear ‘Pick it up Trailer-park Jesus!’” Amos recalled. “I was thinking Trailer-park Jesus, that’s new. But it just kind of stuck and everyone kind of goes with it. I kinda like it.”
The name doesn’t offend him one bit. In fact, Amos said he takes it as a compliment. Right now, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything that brings him down.
“It’s kind of like living out a dream,” Amos said. “Honestly, I never thought I’d be up here talking to you guys. So that’s really neat. It’s something that a lot of people don’t understand but kind of when you sign up for the walk-on deal, you sign into something bigger than yourself. You buy into the team and buy out of yourself and there’s something rewarding in that as well. I think really it has paid off and I’m honestly blessed to be in the situation I’m in and hopefully I can help my team out on Saturday.”
While things are great now, the road to the top wasn’t easy. Amos saw his first college action last year, making appearances against Louisiana and The Citadel. Before that, there were several trying moments where the tight end questioned whether or not the work and sacrifice were worth his walk-on status. He even talked to his dad about quitting.
“It definitely did cross my mind. I’d be lying if I told you it didn’t,” Amos said. “My freshman year, it was really hard. It was my first time being away from home, I was really homesick and I was texting my dad. Honestly, my freshman summer, I didn’t even know if I was going to make the team. We had a lot of talent in that room, and I was like, ‘Dad, I don’t even know if I’m going to make the team. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t. I don’t know if I’m just going to be a regular student.’”
However, the conversations always ended with dad reminding him to follow his dream and the promise of “Just keep doing what you’re doing and things are going to work out.”
Fortunately for Amos and Alabama, that’s exactly what he did.
“Honestly, it’s been really rewarding for me so far,” Amos said. “So I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Amos and Alabama will open their season on Saturday when they face Duke at 2:30 p.m. inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.
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