Alabama Football: Best Gene Stallings' players by position

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Offensive Line and Tight End

Roger Schultz (1987-1990) – Schultz started for four seasons, the last of which was the first of the Stallings era. He was a two-time All-SEC player. He was also a Freshman All-American. Shultz will forever be loved by Alabama football fans for his post-game comment after the Tide beat Tennessee for a fifth consecutive time in 1990. “We should have to pay taxes up here because we own the place!”
Toby Shiels (1990-1993) – Shiels followed Shultz as the Tide’s starting center. He was an All-SEC performer in the 1992 and 1993 seasons. Shield won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in 1993.
Jon Stevenson (1991-1994) – Stevenson was a multi-season starter and was All-SEC in 1994.
Chris Samuels (1996-1999) – Samuels only played for Stallings as a freshman. Samuels became a Crimson Tide starting tackle early in his freshman season. He started 42 games for the Crimson Tide, earning numerous honors, including Consensus All-America in 1999. He won the Outland Trophy in the same season.
Lamonde Russell (Tight End, 1987-1990) – In his only season for Stallings, Russell caught 28 passes which took him to 108 receptions for his Crimson Tide career. He was second-team All-SEC in 1990.

Jay Barker (1991-1994) – The term ‘Game Manager’ was not invented to describe Jay Barker, but it fits. As a team leader, Barker was expected to play well, but equal emphasis was given to mistake-free football. In the 1992 National Championship season, Jay Barker attempted 243 passes. For a comparison, in 2021 Bryce Young attempted 547 passes. In the Stallings era, passing was not a luxury, but it was used only when needed. When Alabama took down Miami in the National Championship Game, Barker passed for 18 yards. Barker was a 1994 All-America. Jay was 35-2-1 as a starter. Barker won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 1994. Also in 1994, he was SEC Player of the Year.