Scott Cochran pointed former Alabama safety turned pit crew member for Kyle Larson to NASCAR

Kyle Larson is currently leading the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, but he couldn’t do it without his pit crew, which includes front tire changer Blaine Anderson.

Anderson is a former walk-on football player at Alabama, where he was part of a national championship squad.

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The USA broadcast highlighted Anderson on Sunday night, putting a spotlight on a guy who normally does a lot of the gritty work behind the scenes for one of NASCAR’s best drivers.

“Blaine was a football player at Alabama, actually walked on for coach (Nick) Saban and these shots are from the 2015 national championship game,” the broadcast noted as it showed pictures of Anderson celebrating a title. “He was a safety and also a special teams player.”

Now he’s a front tire changer for Larson, hauling heavy tires and slinging them around on the track. It’s a job that takes a lot of physical ability.

To that end, Blaine Anderson has been well prepared.

“But he gives credit to Scott Cochran, who he tells me is the most famous strength coach in college football,” the broadcast said. “He said he’s the one who told me try NASCAR after your football career, and he’s still here years later.”

Not only is he still here, he’s competing for one of the top teams in NASCAR. And Kyle Larson will have playoff aspirations following this weekend.

It’s a different kind of playoffs for Blaine Anderson, but he knows a thing or two about preparing to be on the big stage.

Saban made sure of that.

“I asked him the No. 1 lesson you learned from Nick Saban, he said, ‘Honestly, discipline,'” the broadcast said. “I said, ‘With what?’ He said, ‘With everything.’ No doubt about it.”

An Alabama biography for Blaine Anderson online did not list him as recording any statistics for the Crimson Tide. He appeared on the roster in 2015 and 2016.