MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football team has added another transfer from an NCAA Division I-A/Football Bowl Subdivision institution. Jaguar head coach Joey Jones announced Wednesday that Charlie Higgenbotham has enrolled in school and will be eligible to participate immediately.

He comes to USA after spending the last three years at Alabama, and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

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The Jags have also added quarterback Brennan Sim (Oregon State) and running back Brandon Ross (Memphis) to the roster since the end of spring practice.

A 6-foot, 220-pound linebacker from Birmingham, Ala., Higgenbotham played under Jones at Mountain Brook High School prior to enrolling at UA. With the Tide, he posted 16 total tackles including a sack in 24 appearances the last two years after sitting out the 2006 season as a redshirt.

Higgenbotham was credited with four stops while playing both on defense and the kickoff return team a year ago, helping the Crimson Tide go 12-0 in the regular season while winning the Southeastern Conference West Division title and participating in the Allstate Sugar Bowl before ending the campaign ranked sixth in both final national polls. As a freshman the previous fall, he collected 12 stops as ‘Bama finished 7-6 after defeating Colorado in the PetroSun Independence Bowl.

Off the field, he has twice been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

At Mountain Brook High, Higgenbotham averaged over 10 tackles per game for three years, adding four interceptions, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The 38th-ranked linebacker nationally by Rivals.com his final season, he was an honorable mention all-state selection by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and twice chosen first-team all-metro by The Birmingham News.

At the conclusion of his career, Higgenbotham posted a team-leading seven tackles after starting in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic, while he started and led both squads with nine stops — adding a fumble recovery — in the North-South All-Star Game after his junior year.

“I love Charlie both as a person and a player, I was very fortunate to be able to coach him in high school,” Jones said. “I believe his leadership abilities combined with his talent will really help our program over the next two years.”

USA will begin preseason practice Tuesday in preparation for the program’s first-ever game on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Jaguars will take on Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy that day at 4 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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