D. J. Fluker

Danny Lee Jesus "D. J." Fluker (born March 13, 1991) is an American football offensive tackle. He currently attends the University of Alabama in his redshirt junior year. Fluker is considered one of the best offensive tackles of his class.

High school career
Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Fluker and his family left the city in the final hours before Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. They moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, and later Mobile, Alabama, where Fluker attended McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. By eighth grade, he stood 6-3 and weighed 400 pounds, but later lost much of that weight. At McGill-Toolen, Fluker was a dominating defensive lineman. Family issues took Fluker back to Biloxi, for his junior year, where he remained at defensive tackle.

Prior to his senior year, Fluker moved back to Alabama—this time to the city of Foley. At Foley High School, head coach Todd Watson convinced Fluker to play on the offensive line to exploit his full potential. In his first year at offensive tackle, Fluker graded out at 92 percent with 60 pancake blocks and 28 knockdowns. He earned All-American honors by USA Today, Parade, EA Sports, and SuperPrep. He also received an invitation to the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Fluker ranked first among offensive tackle prospects in the nation. Despite growing up an LSU fan, Fluker committed to Alabama.

College career
The kid’s a freak athlete. He probably outweighs me by 70 pounds and moves just as well. Projected to play as true freshman at Alabama, Fluker was a candidate to replace All-American Andre Smith at left tackle, although junior college transfer James Carpenter was considered to have better chances, and eventually got the starting nod. Fluker started the season as third-string right tackle, but eventually redshirted his first year. In 2010, Fluker started nine games at right tackle. He missed three games with an injury midseason.

As a sophomore, Fluker started all 13 games for the Crimson Tide at right tackle on their way to the BCS National Championship victory. As a junior, he started all 14 games at right tackle as Alabama repeated as BCS National Champions. He was selected Walter Camp and Associated Press second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC. He has graded out at 98.6 percent on blocking assignments. Since he had graduated and was in his fourth year, Fluker was granted eligibity by the National Football League to participate in the 2013 Senior Bowl.