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Wesley Britt

Nickname: Big Britt
Birthday: 11-21-81
High School: Cullman
HS Mascot: Bearcats
HS Coach: Mike Bates
HS Position: OT, OG, DT
HS Number: 74
AL Number: 70
Official Visits: Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky
Second Choice: Florida
Host During Alabama Visit: Griff Redmill
Committed: 12-25-99
Roommate To Be: Justin Smiley

An all-state offensive tackle, Britt was the Class 5A "Lineman of the Year." He was rated as one of the state's top five prospects by College Sports' Southeastern Recruiting and was a Super Prep All-America. He was the fifth-best prospect on the Birmingham News "Super Senior" list. Tom Lemming ranked him as the nation's 100th-best prospect. He was the No. 3 prospect in the southeast according to SuperPrep.

As a junior, he threw the discus 142-6 to win the state championship.

Britt has a 335 bench press and squats 460. He also plays basketball.

What Experts Say about Wesley Britt

Bill Buchalter: "He's the best big OL in the South."

Allen Wallace: "Top-rated OL in Alabama. Massive body, excellent feet."

Tom Lemming: "Wesley is a big kid with long arms and quick feet."

Forrest Davis: "An impact player and top lineman in Alabama."

Q&A with Wesley Britt

TI: Wesley, you grew up an Auburn fan. When the recruiting process started for you, did you think there was a possibility you would end up at Alabama?

WB: About a year ago I started getting recruiting letters. The two schools that wrote me the most were Alabama and Kentucky. At first they were my two favorites. I thought there was a good possibility I might end up at Alabama.

TI: Discuss how the recruiting process evolved for you.

WB: After the summer camps, I pretty much knew that Alabama, Florida and Auburn were my three favorites. By the middle point of last season, I narrowed it to Alabama and Florida. Before I made my decision, there was a time when Florida was leading. There was never a point when Auburn was my leader, not even in my junior year. When it came down to it, the difference was the Alabama coaches. I felt like the Alabama coaches recruiting me [Mike DuBose, Dabo Swinney and Ronnie Cottrell] were more personable than some of the others. They were very polite and easy to get along with.

TI: You say that the Alabama coaches were personable and polite. Explain that.

WB: Well, I remember a coach from another school coming to our house. My sister's cat jumped in his lap. The coach kind of got upset and said how much he hated cats. Its things like that you pick up on. But the Alabama coaches were always friendly.

TI: There was a persistent rumor during the recruiting process that your father and Tommy Tuberville had a disagreement and that that was the reason Auburn stopped recruiting you. Would you like to clear the air about that?

WB: Supposedly that happened while my dad and I were at Auburn on a recruiting visit. I never went with my dad on a recruiting visit to Auburn and there was not a disagreement. That didn't happen.

My dad went with me to the Auburn camp last summer. At that time he was kind of hoping that I'd go to Auburn. At the camp he told Coach Gran [AU running backs coach] that they might need to turn up the heat recruiting me because I was looking hard at some of the other schools. Coach Gran told my dad that he was going to recruit me as hard as anyone. They [Auburn] offered me a scholarship at the camp. They wanted me to go ahead and commit and get their recruiting class rolling, but I wasn't ready to commit. About the midpoint of the season, when they realized that Alabama and Florida were my top two, they told me that it was obvious we were heading in different directions, so they said that they were going to concentrate on other offensive linemen. I never thought about Auburn after that.

TI: Another interesting story going around was that Steve Spurrier sang Happy Birthday to you. How did that come about?

WB: That was when I went down there on my official visit in November for the Florida-FSU game. Me and my parents and Brock Berlin and his parents went out to eat with Coach Spurrier. When we finished eating they brought out a cake to me and Coach Spurrier started singing Happy Birthday. Then everyone else joined in. It was pretty neat.

TI: You mentioned Brock Berlin [QB who signed with Florida]. Did he try to talk you into going to Florida to be a part of the 'Berlin Wall'?

WB: Oh yeah, he talked to me about it during my visit. I was one of the original members of the 'Berlin Wall'. The original 'Berlin Wall' included Shannon Snell, Justin Smiley, Jason Respert and Max Starks and me.

[Editor's note: Two-thirds of the 'Berlin Wall' -- Britt and Smiley -- will be protecting Alabama quarterbacks the next four years.]

TI: During the recruiting process, you and Justin Smiley became good friends. In fact, you both chose Alabama over Florida. Did you guys seek each other's advice?

WB: I committed to Alabama before he did. I was already committed when we visited Alabama on the same weekend. We became pretty close and stuck together on the visit. That's when he really decided that he wanted to go to Alabama. After that we just kept calling each other. We're going to room together.

TI: Did you talk to any other prospects during recruiting?

WB: I talked a little bit to Anthony Bryant and Jason Rawls. I also talked to Hobie Holiday some, but he decided to go somewhere else. I talked to Albert Means some. He was kind of quiet, but he was a really nice guy.

TI: Looking back at your high school career, is there a play or game that stands out to you?

WB: I had two interceptions as a defensive tackle. The first one was against Brewer. They tried a middle screen and I read it and dropped back and made the interception. There was only one guy between me and the goalline. I thought I was going to score, but he dove at my knees and brought me down.

The other one came against Hanceville, which is our cross-county rival. They had a bad snap on an extra point. The holder threw it up and I kind of made a diving interception in the end zone.

TI: What are your expectations for next season?

WB: I expect to get bigger and stronger this off-season and go in and compete with Bart Raulston for the starting right tackle spot.

TI: How are you preparing yourself for next season?

WB: Now that basketball season is over, I'm working out pretty hard. I'm hitting the weights. I'm getting stronger. I got 335 on the bench.

A big part of my improvement will be working on quickness. I have a personal trainer who emphasizes jumping rope to improve quickness. Before every workout, I do about 350 reps of jumping rope. I can already tell a difference. I feel quicker.

TI: Well, how does it feel to be a part of a one of the nation's top recruiting classes?

WB: It feels great! It makes your decision easy to handle because you know that you've decided to become part of something great. I feel good because I know I made the right choice.