Tide Signs Four Golfers to National Letters of Intent
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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TUSCALOOSA – Four golfers, one of them who’ll join the team this January, have signed National Letters of Intent to play golf for and attend school at the University of Alabama.
Crimson Tide men’s golf coach Jay Seawell has announced the signing of Gator Todd of Florence, Mark Harrell of Hazlehurst, Ga., Matt Hughes of Dalton, Ga., and Ole Olsen of Fredrikstad, Norway. Olsen will join the Tide team this January. The other three will enter the freshman class in the fall of 2004.
“We’re excited about this recruiting class,” said Seawell. “The character of these young men is as outstanding as their golf and that’s the part I’m most excited about. That’s how you build championships, by character and talent, not just talent. I’m looking forward to these guys getting here.”
Gator Todd is a senior at Coffee High School in Florence. The son of former Tide quarterback Richard Todd, Gator is an American Junior Golf Association All-American, 3rd Team, and is ranked among the top 25 junior golfers in the country. He was the 2003 section medalist, shooting a 66, finished third at the 2003 state high school championships and finished second at the Southern Junior.
“Gator is an AJGA All-American and in the past year has improved his golf more than anyone I’ve ever seen,” said Seawell. “He was just an average player this time last year and right now he’s one of the top 25 players in the United States. That’s a credit to his hard work. Anytime you get an All-American you’re excited of course, but he also has family ties to the University of Alabama. His dad, Richard, played football here in the 1970’s and was an outstanding quarterback, so Gator’s ties to Alabama go deep, but we’re really excited about his golf.”
Matt Hughes is a senior at Dalton High School in Dalton, Ga. His team has won three straight regional championships in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
“Matt’s a great young man. He was the Georgia ‘Big I’ medalist. He played in the national Big I Championships (a Nationwide tournament). He has a tremendous upside. I’ve known him and his family for a long time and have watched him progress. He’s a physically strong player. He hits the ball a long way, and I think he’s going to be a diamond in the rough,” said Seawell.
Mark Harrell is a senior at Jeff Davis High School in Hazlehurst, Ga. His team was the 2002 state runner-up, led by his 2002 state individual championship. Harrell has been his team’s MVP and captain and has a career low round of 63. He is ranked among the top 100 junior golfers nationally.
“Mark is a solid player. I found out about him early this summer. He has all the skills, but his biggest skill is that he’s a competitor. He competes in every round. It doesn’t matter if he’s four or five over or four or five under, and that’s what I like most about him. He has a tremendous upside to him also because of that intangible. We’re looking forward to bringing him in because I think he’s a leader off and on the golf course.”
Ole Olsen will get the first chance of the quartet to test his skills on the collegiate level. He’ll join Alabama’s team in January 2004. Olsen is a member of the Norwegian National Team. His future Tide teammate, Bama senior Lars Brovold, is also a member of the Norwegian National Team. Olsen’s background includes experience in the European championships where he placed 8th in 2003.
“Ole is from Norway and a very good friend of Lars,” said Seawell. “That’s how we found out about Ole. He played on their national team which finished second in the European Amateur Championships, which is a great honor. He has a proven national record. He’s on their World Amateur team, and we’re looking forward to bringing him in and adding him in immediately in January. I think he’ll give us a great boost to our lineup.”
