BamaHammer Players Championship Round 1: Terrence Cody (3) vs. Chance Warmack (6)
Our previous matchup was much more of a blowout than we expected. AJ McCarron garnered 84 percent of the vote and now goes on to a very compelling second-round matchup in our tournament to crown the greatest Alabama Crimson Tide football player of all time.
Today’s matchup pairs two modern-day trench warriors, and is the first pairing of two players who were both recruited to Alabama by Nick Saban.
Stallings Division – D-Line vs. O-Line
Terrence Cody (2008-2009)
Nose Tackle – Fort Myers, Fla.
6’5”, 360 lbs
Career Statistics: 52 tackles (10.5 for loss), 0.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 blocked kicks
After two seasons playing junior college ball at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Terrence Cody made his presence known the moment he stepped foot in Tuscaloosa.
Cody was immediately inserted into the starting lineup at nose tackle in his junior year – his first at Alabama. Playing in Nick Saban’s 3-4 defense, the 6-foot-5, 360-pound mammoth nicknamed “Mount Cody” made an immediate impact at the position. Although his statistics are modest that can be attributed to consistently taking on double and triple teams, which created space for his teammates to make plays.
A consensus All-American in 2008 and 2009, Cody played a key role in the Crimson Tide’s revival to past greatness. He helped lead the Tide to an SEC Championship game appearance after a 12-0 regular season in 2008, and to a perfect 14-0 national championship-winning season in 2009 – the Tide’s first since 1992.
Cody is probably best remembered, however, for the play that saved the 2009 season.
With the Tide leading 12-10, the Tennessee Volunteers were in a position to spoil No. 1 Alabama’s undefeated season when they set up for a 45-yard field goal with four seconds left to win the game. In one of the greatest moments in Crimson Tide history, Mount Cody blocked the field goal – his second of the game – in a play that now lives on in Crimson Tide lore as “Rocky Block.”
The blocked kick not only preserved in an Alabama win, but became the catalyst that propelled the Tide to a national championship victory.
Chance Warmack (2009-2012)
Offensive Guard – Atlanta, Ga.
6’3”, 320 lbs
A unanimous All-SEC and All-American in 2012, Chance Warmack made 40 consecutive starts at left guard between the 2010-2012 seasons. Including the 2009 season in which he played sparingly as a reserve, Warmack finished his Crimson Tide career with a record of 49-5 and three national championships in four years.
Warmack was a stalwart on the offensive line for an Alabama offense that was arguably the most imposing in the school’s history during his four-year career. Between the 2009-2012 seasons, the Crimson Tide had their top four seasons ever in both total yards and four out of the best five ever in total points scored.
In 2012, Warmack had his best season as a member of probably the greatest Alabama offensive line ever assembled.
Individually, he finished with a team-best 37 pancake blocks and made only two penalties in 732 offensive plays. At season’s end, he was a quarterfinalist for the Lombardi Trophy given to the top lineman or linebacker, and on the Outland Trophy watch list as the top interior lineman.
As a team, Warmack helped lead an offense that shattered the team’s single-season offensive touchdown record with 68 (the previous record was 58 set in 1945), including 31 passing touchdowns, also a team record. He also helped pave the way for Alabama’s two 1,000-yard rushers in a single season in Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon.