EDITOR’S NOTE: Player interviews related to this topic are available upon request.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Seven University of Alabama football players have already completed all requirements to earn their academic degrees and at least that many more are on track to earn their degrees by the post-season bowl games.

Athletically, the players are less than halfway through their senior seasons, yet academically, they have completed their degrees, said Jon Dever, director of academic services in UA’s athletics department.

“Having this number of graduates is a really good indication of how successful these kids have been in school and how dedicated they have been, not only to their sport but also in getting their degrees,” said Dever. “By the time the bowl games get here, we could have 14 or 15 guys who could walk out there with their degrees.”

Football players who have already earned their degrees include:

• Brandon Brooks, accounting
• J.B. Closner, financial planning/consumer science
• Jacob Collins, history
• Brodie Croyle, human environmental sciences
• Anthony Madison, marketing
• Matt Miller, management
• Charlie Peprah, management

Dever said UA’s athletic department was fortunate to have head coaches who emphasized the proper balance between athletics and academics. For head football coach Mike Shula and head basketball coach Mark Gottfried to have both played at UA and excelled academically sends a distinct message to their players, Dever said.

During their playing careers, both Shula and Gottfried received the Tuscaloosa County Alumni Association’s Paul W. Bryant Scholar Athlete Award, given to the top academic athlete, male and female.

“It starts at the top,” Dever said, “and if the kids see their head coach took academics seriously, they are more inclined to do so, as well.”

The UA football team’s academic successes are not limited to those students who have completed degree requirements, Dever said.

“DeMeco Ryans, you talk about an academic success, he’s it,” Dever said. “He’s a first-team Arthur Ashe scholar athlete. He’s going to graduate cum laude (in management) in December.”

“I’m just incredibly proud of these kids,” Dever said, “and how hard they have worked.”