Jesus Machado, 8th-Grade LB Prospect, Receives Offer from Alabama

The University of Alabama offered a verbal scholarship to class of 2020 linebacker prospect Jesus Machado on Wednesday, per Youth1.com's Alan Popadines. 

Machado, who is only in the eighth grade, goes to school in Florida and has already received offers from Michigan State, West Virginia, North Carolina State and Iowa State, per Popadines.       

Machado has played varsity football for Champagnat Catholic despite not being a true high school student yet. 

At 6'0", 195 pounds, according to 247Sports, Machado stuck out when playing youth football, to say the least:

Popadines ranked him as a top-10 national prospect as a seventh-grader in 2015. After he's finished with middle school, he'll be playing in the Florida/Georgia Future Stars Game this summer at IMG Academy. 

While it's difficult for many to grasp how such a young prospect is already fielding offers from some of the most elite programs in the nation, that's the nature of the business today. 

Schools are going to look at any young player who shows a glimpse of promise as early as possible. This gives teams an opportunity to gain an edge, no matter how small it might be.