Colorado defensive lineman Antonio Alfano, a former top-30 national recruit who has yet to play in a college football game, has decided to enter the transfer portal for a second time, he announced Wednesday.
Alfano, who started his college career at Alabama in 2019, thanked Colorado fans in a Twitter post for “the endless support and love you have shown me in a time of loneliness and uncertainty for a lot of people.”
Thank you #buff nation. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LIf2o0cMWE
— Antonio Alfano (@Antonioalfano99) March 10, 2021
ESPN rated Alfano, a Colonia, New Jersey, native, as the top defensive tackle and No. 29 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class. He appeared in Alabama’s spring game in 2019 but did not play for the Tide during the season. He entered the transfer portal in October 2019 and joined Colorado in November 2019.
Alfano told the Boulder Daily Camera in October that he couldn’t practice with Colorado after being diagnosed with epilepsy. He started having seizures in February 2020 and struggled to control them, preventing medical clearance to play. Alfano was suspended that month for a team rules violation, shortly after Colorado made a coaching change from Mel Tucker to Karl Dorrell, but was reinstated during the summer.
In December, Alfano released a statement about his health struggles, writing, “I still don’t know the root of my epilepsy nor understand it. I’ve been put on multiple different medications since February, none of these medications have been working. Not only has epilepsy taken complete control over my life, it has prevented me from pursuing my passion. Football has been life since I can remember, now Football seems like a false hope I lived with my whole life.”