Outside Linebacker
In fairness to all the linebackers, inside and outside is a relative distinction. Some of them played all over the field. Two who did so were Derrick Thomas and Cornelius Bennett.
Derrick Thomas
Derrick Thomas is an Alabama football legend. Thomas was dominant with the Alabama Crimson Tide and later the Kansas City Chiefs.
Thomas was an incredible talent and still, holds the NCAA record for sacks in a season with 27. Thomas was an All-American and won the Butkus Award.
Thomas was the fourth overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft. He played 11 seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. If we listed all the awards won by Derrick Thomas over the course of his career it would take three pages. Possibly most impressive are his 9 trips to the Pro-Bowl.
Sadly, Thomas’ story is also a story of great success cut terribly short. Derrick Thomas tragically died in February 2000, a few days after suffering injuries in a car accident.
Derrick Thomas is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
If you’d like to know more about Derrick Thomas’ story you should watch ESPN’s 30 for 30 on his life called “In Search of Derrick Thomas.”
Cornelius Bennett
Cornelius Bennett played four years (1983-1986) for Alabama football coach Ray Perkins. Along with Mike Shula, Bennett was elected as a Permanent Captain at the end of the 1986 season.
Bennett was a First Team All-American in 1984, 1985, and 1986. He won the Lombardi Trophy in 1986. Also in 1986, he was the SEC Player of the Year.
Cornelius Bennett will forever be remembered in Crimson Tide lore for this play, known simply as The Sack:
After finishing seventh in the Heisman voting in 1986, Bennett was the second overall pick in the 1987 NFL Draft. He played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and Indianapolis Colts.
Bennett never won a Super Bowl ring but he played in five Super Bowls. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention
Demeco Ryans
Demeco Ryans played at Alabama 2002 through 2005. He played in every game as a freshman and started the next three seasons.
Ryans has the official record for the most tackles in a single game by making 25 stops against Arkansas as a sophomore in 2003.
In 2004 Ryans was second team ALL-SEC. In 2005, he was ALL-SEC, ALL-American, and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He was also the winner of the Lott Trophy in 2005.
Ryans is No. 2 on the Tide single-season tackles list with 126 stops in 2003. He is No. 5 on the career tackle list with 309 stops.
Ryans played 10 seasons in the NFL, 2006-2015 with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles.
In January 2017, Ryans was hired as an assistant by the San Francisco 49’ers.