Alabama Football: THROWBACK THURSDAY Tide Player Randy Rockwell

On THROWBACK THURSDAY’s we tell stories of special  Alabama Football teams, coaches, and players. Join us as we cherish Crimson Tide Memories from the past.

Player: Randy Rockwell – Linebacker No. 57 (1984-1987) – Fairhope, AL

Alabama Football’s Randy Rockwell was an undersized, outside linebacker who struggled with a bad knee for most of his Crimson Tide career. When Alabama fans discuss players with deep reservoirs of grit and determination, Randy Rockwell is often mentioned.

Rockwell played four years for Alabama. He spent three seasons playing for Ray Perkins and his senior season playing for Bill Curry. Those transition years between Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings were difficult for Alabama football. In Rockwell’s four seasons Alabama football lost 16 games.

Ironically one of those 16 losses was inflicted by Bill Curry’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in September 1984. When Alabama hired Bill Curry to replace Ray Perkins, many Alabama football fans were shocked. Years later it would become known that Curry had been on Paul Bryant’s list of future Alabama coaches. But in 1986, most fans only knew Curry as a coach with a 31-43-4 record for an old rival.

Randy Rockwell made 206 tackles in his Alabama football career. A chronic knee injury hampered Rockwell, particularly in his 1987 senior season. In the first spring and fall camps run by new coach Billy Curry, Rockwell was limited by his knee. Curry admired the young man’s toughness,  but he was fearful Rockwell’s injury would severely limit his effectiveness.

Several years after Bill Curry left Alabama for other coaching opportunities, he was asked to reflect on what makes Alabama football so special. With his articulate speaking style, Bill Curry is a gifted storyteller. To explain the specialness of Alabama, Curry chose to tell a story about Randy Rockwell.

Here is the story posted by NBC Sports in 2013: http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/227/

"But going into his first game against Southern Miss. — which had a sophomore quarterback named Brett Favre — he (Curry) was worried. His team was so beat up that he did not know how they would stop anybody. Early in the game, there was a pass to a running back in the flat who ran toward the sideline and Curry anticipated the inevitable 50-yard gain.Only then, a blur of light raced by and tackled the running back for a loss. “Who the heck was that?” Curry said into his headset. “That was Rockwell,” he was told.“Randy Rockwell?” Curry said. “No, it can’t be him. He’s got a $600 brace on his knee that looks like an erector set. Rockwell? He couldn’t even walk on Thursday.”“It’s Rockwell,” the voice on the headset said. “It’s Saturday, coach. And we’re at Alabama.”"

The Rockwell story has been retold in similar versions numerous times. Admittedly it is a stretch to believe that in the heat of a game, there was time to discuss a $600 brace that looks like an erector set. But it is a great story and doubting its legitimacy is not warranted.

This is all you need to remember about Alabama football and guys like Randy Rockwell, “It’s Saturday, coach. And” (we’re not on any other sideline in America) “we’re at Alabama.”

Next: Check Out Our WOAT List - Opposing Coaches - Worst of All-Time Against the Tide

Bama Hammer Throwback Thursday Salutes Randy Rockwell. Let us know what you think on Facebook.