Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 34 days

If you can believe it, we are officially under the 35-day mark until Alabama is back on a football field. After coming up short in the national championship game against Georgia back in early January, the Crimson Tide will once again be searching for its seventh title ring under Nick Saban.

This year’s season opener will be against the Utah State Aggies on Sept. 3 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

With today being July 31, that means we are only 34 days away from the return of Alabama football. The team here at BamaOn3 is ready to celebrate every day of the countdown that stands between now and the start of college football. Let’s focus on a player, both past and present, who represents — or has represented — the No. 34.

*Note: BamaOn3 is also doing a Countdown to Fall Camp, which is only 4 days away.

Who currently wears the No. 34?

Mekiel Stewart is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound walk-on wide receiver who is one of two players wearing the No. 34 for Alabama this season. The other, of course, is redshirt sophomore Quandarrius Robinson, who will be attempting to push for more playing time in Year 3.

As a freshman, Robinson didn’t see any action. That once again remained the case on defense in 2021, but the former top-75 player in the 2020 On3 Consensus rankings did make a small impact while playing 50 snaps on special teams.

When you look at some of the other talent Alabama has brought in at Robinson’s position over the past three recruiting cycles, it shouldn’t come as a complete shock that he’s struggled to find his way into the rotation at outside linebacker. Here’s a look at those other signings:

• 2020: Chris Braswell, Will Anderson and Drew Sanders
• 2021: Dallas Turner and Keanu Koht
• 2022: Jeremiah Alexander

All six of those guys ranked amongst the top-40 prospects in their respective classes. In fact, five of the six were five-star players in the On3 Consensus rankings. Even with Robinson being a highly-recruited four-star in 2020, the competition has been steep.

At 6-foot-5, 224 pounds, he remains the leanest outside linebacker on the roster. Maybe he’ll take a step towards contributing — even if that’s just as trusted depth — this upcoming season.

Who’s a noteworthy former player to wear it?

There have been a lot of successful players at Alabama. Really, there’s been a lot of fan favorites as well, but few are as likeable as former running back Damien Harris, who wore the No. 34 from 2015-18. Not only was he an intelligent, well-spoken ambassador for the University, but he also put up fantastic numbers on the field.

The former five-star out of Berea (Ky.) totaled 3,477 yards — with over 3,000 of that coming on the ground — and 25 touchdowns in four seasons. To this day, Harris is one of only three running backs (T.J. Yeldon and Najee Harris being the other two) to post back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons during the Nick Saban era.

After being a second-team All-SEC selection in 2018, he went on the be a third-round pick (No. 87 overall) by the New England Patriots. Harris has seen his usage ramp up in each of the last two seasons since getting to the NFL.

In 2019, he only played in two games with four rushes (12 yards). Then in 2020, he saw that increase to 743 total yards (691 rushing, 52 receiving) and two scores on 142 touches. Most recently, Harris came close to the 1,000-yard rushing mark (929) to go along with 132 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns.

His 15 rushing scores tied for second-most in the NFL behind Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (18).

2022 Alabama Football Schedule

Sept. 3 vs. Utah State Aggies (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Sept. 10 at Texas Longhorns (Austin, Tex.)

Sept. 17 vs. UL-Monroe Warhawks (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Sept. 24 vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Oct. 1 at Arkansas Razorbacks (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Oct. 8 vs. Texas A&M Aggies (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Oct. 15 at Tennessee Volunteers (Knoxville, Tenn.)

Oct. 22 vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Oct. 29 – OPEN WEEK

Nov. 5 at LSU Tigers (Baton Rouge, La.)

Nov. 12 at Ole Miss Rebels (Oxford, Miss.)

Nov. 19 vs. Austin Peay Governors (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Nov. 26 vs. Auburn Tigers (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Dec. 3 – SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (Atlanta, Ga.)