Alabama Football: Quartet of former Crimson Tide standouts Super Bowl bound

Alabama football has more than its share of former players in the NFL. In fact, it had a record 70 former players active in the league in the 2022-23 season.

A quartet of former standouts, quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receiver Devonta Smith, offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, and defensive back Josh Jobe of the Philadelphia Eagles are all Super Bowl bound after helping the Eagles defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC Championship game.

Jalen Hurts played for Alabama football from 2016 to 2018, appearing in 42 games and amassing a record of 26-2 as a starting quarterback. Hurts was on Alabama teams that went to the national championship game in each of his three years on campus. He won a championship with Bama in 2017 despite infamously being benched for Tua Tagovailoa at halftime of the title game.

While Jalen Hurts was never an elite passer with Alabama football, he was very effective in his role as the leader of the offense. He was a bruising runner and rarely turned the ball over, throwing just 12 interceptions while accounting for 71 total touchdowns in his Alabama career.

He transferred to Oklahoma as a senior, and made strides as a passer in Lincoln Riley’s quarterback-friendly offense. Hurts racked up over 5,000 total yards and 53 touchdowns in his lone season in Norman, finishing second in the 2019 Heisman voting.

Hurts will be the first former Alabama quarterback to start in the Super Bowl since Ken Stabler in 1977. He also joins the ranks of former Bama signal callers Bart Starr and Joe Namath, who combined to be the MVPs of the first three Super Bowls.

Devonta Smith played for Alabama from 2017 to 2020, winning two national titles, a Biletnikoff Award, and a Heisman Trophy in his time at the Capstone. Smith gained national acclaim as a true freshman when he caught Tua Tagovailoa’s “2nd & 26” walk-off touchdown pass in the 2017 national championship game.

He continued to progress each year, and was named a second-team All-American as a junior with over 1,000 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. He opted to return to Alabama for his senior season in 2020, and proceeded to dominate college football.

Smith made 117 receptions in just 13 games, tallied 1,856 receiving yards, and scored 25 total touchdowns en route to becoming the first wide receiver to win the Heisman in almost 30 years. He was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and quickly became one of the best receivers in the league.

Landon Dickerson joined Alabama football as a transfer from Florida State in 2019 and immediately earned a starting job. Over the next two seasons, he would start 24 games for Alabama, primarily at center.

In his senior season in 2020, Dickerson was part of a national championship team and spearheaded an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award. Landon Dickerson was a unanimous first team All-American, and was drafted by the Eagles early in the second round of the 2021 Draft despite having a torn ACL.

He quickly seized a starting role on the Eagles’ offensive line, and was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl in just his second year in the NFL. Dickerson left the NFC Championship game with an apparent arm injury, but will hopefully be good to go on Super Bowl Sunday.

Josh Jobe played for Alabama football from 2018 to 2021, and was a starting cornerback on Alabama’s 2020 national championship team. Jobe tallied 129 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and two interceptions in his college career, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Eagles prior to the 2022 season.

The continuous NFL success Alabama football has enjoyed during the Coach Nick Saban era is just another notch on the belt of a historic program. It also serves as the ultimate recruiting tool.

That success shouldn’t slow down any time soon, as Alabama could place as many as five players in the first round of the 2023 draft.