Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 35 days

If you can believe it, we are officially at the 35-day mark until Alabama is back on a live-game 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 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 30, that means we are only 35 days away from the return of Alabama football. The team here at BamaOn3 is ready to celebrate every day of the countdown standing between now and the start of football season. Let’s focus on a player — both past and present — who represents — or has represented — the No. 35.

*Note: BamaOn3 is also doing a Countdown to Fall Camp, which is only 5 days away.

Who currently wears the No. 35?

There are currently two players wearing the No. 35 listed on Alabama’s roster. One is Zarian Courtney, a 6-foot-2, 183-pound walk-on wide receiver out of Arlington (Tex.) Timberview who transferred in from Oklahoma Baptist. The other is five-star freshman Jeremiah Alexander.

Alexander, an outside linebacker out of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, is now in Tuscaloosa after being rated as the No. 14 player nationally, No. 1 edge rusher and top player from the state of Alabama, according to the 2023 On3 Consensus rankings.

With Will Anderson, Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell as the top three outside linebackers on the roster, the likelihood of Alexander seeing significant action in Year 1 remains low. In many ways, that should be considered a good thing, however.

Alexander is ready to contribute as an early-down run defender.

He’s a very effective edge-setter, but there’s still some work that needs to be done as far as getting after opposing quarterbacks. Instead of being forced into early action, the 6-2, 258-pound defender will get to sit and learn behind two, maybe even three of the best in Anderson, Turner and Braswell.

With almost everyone expecting Anderson to be around for just one more season, Alexander should be aiming to become an important part of the rotation in 2023, especially if Braswell doesn’t take the next step in his development to stop the run.

Who’s a noteworthy former player to wear it?

Over the years, there have been several impact players for Alabama to wear the No. 35. In the Nick Saban era alone, we’ve seen linebackers such as Nico Johnson and Shane Lee. But instead of highlighting either of those guys, let’s discuss arguably the best player to wear that number in school history.

His name is DeMeco Ryans, and he played for the Crimson Tide from 2002-05.

Ryans started his career off in Tuscaloosa by being a special teams contributor and spot player. Then in his second season, the Bessemer (Ala.) native was ready to become a full-time player at strong-side linebacker. He quickly became the heart and soul of Alabama’s defense, and by his senior year in 2005, he was nationally recognized for his performance.

He was a first-team All-SEC selection, as well as a unanimous All-American. As far as individual awards, Ryans was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year while also landing the Lott Trophy, which is given to a high-character defensive player.

After college, Ryans would go on to be selected by the Houston Texans in the second round (No. 33 overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft. Over the next decade, he’d rack up 971 tackles, 72 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, 7 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles and 10 fumble recoveries for the Texans and Philadelphia Eagles.

Here are some of his individual achievements from the NFL level:

• Defensive Rookie of the Year (2006)
• PFWA All-Rookie Team (2006)
• Two-time Pro Bowl (2007, 2009)
• First-team All-Pro (2007)

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.)