The designation beside Robbie Ouzts' name on Alabama's roster is tight end. If he had it his way, it'd read something different.

"I like to say I play fullback as well, even though fullback is a little extinct,” Ouzts said during an appearance on The Kalen DeBoer Show last month.

The fullback position — or what's left of it in today's game — is why Ouzts was recruited to Alabama. His love for the role is why he wears the No. 45 and why he doesn't blink before charging into SEC defenders whenever he gets the opportunity. The fullback position is also why you'll be seeing Ouzts continue his blue-collar brand of football on Sundays in the coming years.

Last month, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy called Ouzts one of a few potential draftable players at the fullback position in next year’s NFL draft. That statement holds a little more weight for Ouzts, who grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina, idolizing former Carolina Panthers fullback Brad Hoover.

“I love playing fullback,” Ouzts said. “If I have a chance at the next level, I feel like it’ll be kind of at the fullback position just because of my build. But for [Nagy] to say something like that, that’s an honor.”

Nagy isn’t the only fan of Ouzts hard-nosed style. SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic has signaled out the blue-collar blocker multiple times on social media and recently posted a clip of him opening a hole for running back Justice Haynes during Alabama’s win over Missouri.

Blocks like those have also garnered the respect of former Alabama fullbacks, who are rooting for Ouzts to continue the Crimson Tide’s legacy at the position moving forward.

“You’ve got to be tough to play this position, period,” said Baron Huber, who played fullback at Alabama from 2006-09. “Whenever you get to where you’ve got to be at, you’ve got to get there with bad intentions. That’s one thing that Robbie’s always done well. He’s tough, and you can tell he enjoys his position.”

The fullback role isn’t for the faint of heart.

Huber lists “courage” as the position’s defining trait. Fellow former Alabama fullback Le’Ron McClain agrees but said there’s also a bit of craziness required to constantly put yourself in the way of danger.

“That’s something you don’t see a lot from kids today,” said McClain, who currently coaches running backs at Tuscaloosa’s Central High School after earning two trips to the Pro Bowl during his seven-year NFL career. “Nobody wants to lead block anymore. You need a guy who is willing to blow up the hole and clear the way for the backs.”

Ouzts, who claims he kind of blacks out before blowing up defenders in open space, is that guy.

“I’ve always had that pride in doing the dirty work,” Ouzts said. “Coming out of high school, I wasn’t a big stats guy. That’s kind of what got me to this level, was putting my hand down and just doing the things other guys didn’t want to. I look forward to doing that.

“Somebody’s gotta do it, and I’ll be him.”

Responses like that are refreshing to Huber, who perks up every time he sees a fullback step onto the field. The former Alabama yeoman still wears his fullback designation as a badge of honor, especially now that his former role is becoming a rarity in today’s game.

“I tell people all the time I was a fullback, and depending on who I’m talking to they might not know what that is,” Huber said. “I always tell people you’re looking at a walking talking dinosaur. The game has changed so much. But as long as there’s a fourth-and-1, there’s going to be room for a fullback on a roster somewhere.”

The evolution of spread offenses has seen teams move away from the use of a traditional fullback which lines up directly behind the quarterback. Every NFL team carries a player capable of serving in that role, but according to Pro Football Focus, only seven NFL players have registered enough snaps to warrant a grade at the position this season.

According to PFF, Ouzts has logged just four snaps in the backfield as a traditional fullback this season. Instead, he primarily serves as more of an H-back, setting up a couple of yards behind the left or right tackle where he can pull across the line to open up holes at the second level or trap defensive tackles.

That’s quite a bit different from the role Steve Bisceglia held when he served as the first fullback in Paul “Bear” Bryant’s wishbone offense at Alabama from 1971-72. While Ouzts isn’t taking carries out of the triple-option, his lead-blocking abilities have earned him Bisceglia’s admiration. In fact, the former Tide fullback believes the responsibilities in today’s H-back role are even more difficult than what he dealt with during his playing days.

“As far as today is concerned, the formations and who they’re going after, it’s much more complicated,” Bisceglia said. “You have to be a more astute player to handle that. Keeping the offenses and the formations and the play-calling straight with all the changes at the line of scrimmage. Then they have to know all the routes in the route tree on top of all that. I mean, to me it’s fascinating how they can do all that now.”

Another big difference between Bisceglia and Ouzts is their size. While Bisceglia barely broke the 200-pound mark on the scale, Ouzts is listed at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds on Alabama’s roster. Although, that hasn’t stopped the senior from pulling off a few athletic plays as a receiver.

“That’s what’s so scary about him. Here’s a guy who’s 270 pounds and can catch a pass,” Bisceglia said. “Now you got a guy out there, he looks like he’s blocking. He might chip-block somebody, and then all of a sudden he’s out there in the flat catching a pass with all that grass in front of him and a little cornerback between him and the end zone. That’s the matchup you want.”

Despite his athleticism, Ouzts is never going to light up the stat sheet. Through eight games this season, he’s been targeted just four times, resulting in four receptions for 24 yards. He claims Alabama drew up a handoff to him in last year’s playbook, but it never got called.

“We’ll see,” he said when asked last week about potentially getting a carry this season. “I might have to go up to [Nick] Sheridan’s office and campaign for it. I’d love one though. It’d be awesome.”

Perhaps he’ll have better luck than Huber, who was never able to convince Nick Saban to let him tote the rock during his time at Alabama.

“Coach Saban used to say, part of being a great coach is putting players in the right position for them to succeed,” Huber said with a laugh. “He told me carrying the ball was not my position to succeed. I’d love to see Robbie get a carry, but I’m more focused on us getting a first down or a touchdown. I know Robbie’s the same way.”

As Huber pointed out, Ouzts is fine with whatever duties Alabama calls him to perform. That includes special teams where he has worked with the coverage, kick return and field goal units.

It’s that rounded skill set that has so many believing in Ouzts’ potential at the next level.

“Those are the guys I lost my job to,” said former Alabama fullback Tim Castille, who spent four seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. “Somebody with Robbie’s size can kind of do both. You can start them in the backfield but also bring them to the line and put them in a two-tight-end set. You can also motion him around and do different things. On top of all that, he can run and play special teams. Guys like that are what they’re looking for in the league.”

There wasn’t a fullback selected in this year’s NFL draft, and there’s been just one player selected at the position in each of the previous years. Alabama’s last drafted fullback was Jalston Fowler, who was taken by the Tennessee Titans with the 108th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2015 draft.

It’s hard to project whether or not Ouzts will add his name to that list next spring. Either way, his throw-back style of play has old-school football purists rooting him on.

“Robbie’s done a hell of a job at his position, and I enjoy watching him play it,” Huber said. “I hope we get to see him at the next level over the next few years.”