Alonzo Ephraim

Alonzo Brandon Ephraim (born November 8, 1981 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an arena football offensive lineman for the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League, as well as Team Alabama of the All American Football League. He played college football at Alabama.

Ephraim was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003. In his career he has also played for the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. In 2006, while with the Browns, he was suspended four games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, after which he was waived by the Browns.

On July 27, 2007, Ephraim signed with the All American Football League to play for Team Alabama when the league began play.

High school career
Ephraim attended Wenonah High School, where he played Center on offense and Defensive End on defense. He was also the starting Center on the school's basketball team as well. He also was on the baseball and track teams as well. In 1998, as a senior he was selected as the Class 6A Offesnive Lineman of the Year. As well, he was also a Super 12 (All-State) team Honorable mention, along with future college teammates Dante Ellington and Saleem Rasheed. When he graduated he had a 3.2 GPA.

College career
Ephraim received interest from schools such as Alabama, Michigan, UCLA, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Nebraska. In the end, he chose Alabama. As a true freshman, he appeared in just two games, for a total of 29 plays. He then played as a back-up for every game as a sophomore. He became a starter as a junior and played 708 plays that season, the most among Alabama offensive linemen, he also recorded 118 knock-down blocks. He was a Second-team All-America selection his senior year. He was also an All-SEC selection as a junior. As a senior he was one of seven Alabama players selected as All-SEC. As a senior he was named to the Rimington Trophy watchlist.

National Football League
Ephraim went unselected in the 2003 NFL Draft, however signed as undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles and played in 16 games as a rookie. In 2004, he played in 13 games with two starts at Right Guard two for the Eagles. He was then released on April 28, 2005. On August 2, 2005, he signed with the Miami Dolphins. In his lone season with the Dolphins, he played in 13 games, with three starts. Then in 2006, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Cleveland Browns but was suspended for four games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. He was then waived after he completed his suspension. Over his four year NFL career, he played in 43 total games.

Arena Football League
On April 24, 2008, Ephraim signed with the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League and played in three games as a rookie.

All American Football League
At the All American Football League's national try-outs held on July 27, 2007, Ephraim along with fellow Alabama alumi's Reggie Myles, and Marcus Spencer signed with the league to play for Team Alabama. However, the league postponed their inaugural season until 2009.