Keith Holcombe’s in for a busy spring.
Two years after playing his last baseball game at nearby Hillcrest High School, the Alabama linebacker is back on the ball field. It was time to give baseball another try, this time at the collegiate level.
Alabama baseball coach Mitch Gaspard spoke highly of Holcombe, a 37th-round MLB draft pick in 2014.
It’ll make for a tricky few weeks when spring football practice begins next month. A right fielder who Gaspard said could play any of the three outfield positions, will balance the two sports.
“There’s going to be some back and forth when football begins,” Gaspard said. “With us playing night games and the way the spring schedule is tailored, we’ve been able to marry up the football schedule and the baseball schedule so. He might miss a little time, but not much. Really, right now, if he’s contributing and playing a major role, he’s going to be here. So we think it’s going to be a real good situation for us and football through that time. And I think he will be a major contributor for us.”
Dates for spring practice have not been released, but it traditionally spans five weeks starting in mid-March. The baseball season begins Feb. 19 when Alabama reopens the rebuilt Sewell-Thomas Stadium against Maryland.
The bulk of weekend series through the stretch also occupied by football are on the road. The Tide plays at LSU (March 18-20), Georgia (March 31-April 2) and Kentucky (April 8-10). There are also midweek games at UAB and against Auburn in Montgomery sprinkled in between. Ole Miss will be in town for a three-game series on A-Day weekend, April 15-17.
So what happens when there’s a practice at the same time as a game?
“I think we’re going to have to work those things out,” Gaspard said. “I think the good thing is we have this first month to see where he stacks up and where he’s going to be. I think the front end and the back end, really football isn’t going to be involved. When they’re finished with spring practice, we still have seven weeks left. I think there’s that little five-week window where he has to balance back and forth a little bit to make sure he’s getting, on both sides, what he needs.
“That was expected. He understands that as we do. We’re exciting that he’s getting the opportunity and football is allowing him to come do that and he feels the same way.”
In recent years, a few Alabama football player split time with track in the spring. But there aren’t quite as many competitions as baseball and they are concentrated on weekends.
On the football field, Holcombe made his biggest impact as a special teams player in 2015. His blocked punt early in the SEC Championship Game win over Florida set the tone in a low-scoring first half. Holcombe, who redshirted in 2014, made eight total tackles ― five on special teams.
It’s taking a little time to get reacquainted with the offensive side of the game for Holcombe. It’s been two years since facing live fastballs. But he’s impressing teammates with his athleticism.
“He’s extremely fast,” said centerfielder Georgie Salem. “There aren’t many guys that are his size (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) that can run and move around in an athletic way that he does. It’s pretty cool. Just to come from the football field over here and be able to transition as easily as he has … He’s had two years off, so that’s not exactly the easiest thing to do, pick up a baseball bat and immediately hit SEC pitching. But he’s definitely making a good transition.”
Pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett, a Hoover product, knew of Holcombe in his high school years. The speed of the middle linebacker impressed him too.
“He’s obviously a little behind playing football in the fall and all of us were playing baseball,” he said. “I think he’ll catch up with it and he’s going to be a good player.”
Gaspard isn’t hedging much on expectations for his new addition.
“Without question, he’s going to contribute to our team this spring,” Gaspard said. “It’s a little bit of wait and see because I think, offensively, he still has a ways to come. But he’s getting better every day. He’s working extremely hard. I like where he’s at now, but I think we’re really going to like where he is in a month or two.”
