Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 51 days

If you can believe it, we are officially under the 55-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 14, that means we are only 51 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. 51.

*Note: BamaOn3 is also doing a Countdown to Fall Camp, which is only 22 days away.

Who currently wears the No. 51?

There’s not one, but two scholarship players who are wearing the No. 51 for Alabama. One is versatile offensive lineman Tanner Bowles, a redshirt junior out of Glasgow (Ky.) who has played 46 snaps in five total games over the last two seasons.

The other is the returning starter at long snapper in Kneeland Hibbett. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound sophomore started all 15 games for the Crimson Tide as a true freshman. In total, he played 150 snaps with one assisted tackle on the season.

The last long snapper to wear the No. 51 for Alabama was Carson Tinker.

Who’s a noteworthy former player to wear it?

A few years before Nick Saban accepted the job to become Alabama’s next head coach, there was an offensive lineman roaming the campus who represented the No. 51 well. His name was Evan Mathis, and he proved to quality blocker on both the college and NFL levels for over a decade and a half.

Coming out of Birmingham (Ala.) Homewood in 2000, Mathis chose to sign with the Crimson Tide over several other prominent programs. He redshirted his first year in Tuscaloosa, but then proceeded to start 47 consecutive games over the next four seasons.

Three of those seasons were spent at right tackle before kicking inside to left guard for his fifth and final year. That season, he helped anchor an offensive line that also included talents such as offensive tackle Wesley Britt and center J.B. Closner. He played over 600 snaps with 75 knockdown blocks.

For his play, Mathis was awarded consensus All-SEC honors in 2004.

After wrapping up his college career, he went on to be a third-round pick (No. 79 overall) by the Carolina Panthers in the 2005 NFL Draft. He was a 15-game starter at right guard during his second season with the franchise. But other than that, his time in Carolina was considered underwhelming.

In 2008, he spent seven games with the Miami Dolphins before being released and latching on with the Cincinnati Bengals. Oddly enough, that move north acted as some sort of turning point in his career. He played in 26 games for the franchise with seven starts from 2008-10.

Then in 2011, Mathis finally found his footing with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Despite being 30 years old by that point, the 6-foot-5, 301-pounder started 56 games at left guard over the next four years. Mathis proved to be a perfect fit in Chip Kelly’s zone-blocking scheme that required athletic offensive linemen. He even made the Pro Bowl in both 2013 and 2014.

Afterwards, Mathis went on to play 16 games with 12 starts for the Denver Broncos in 2015.

Somehow at 34 years old, he was still playing high-quality football. The Broncos won Super Bowl 50 that year with Mathis acting as an important piece of Peyton Manning’s protection. Of course, that’d be his only championship ring, but hey, there aren’t many people who can put that on their resume.

Plus, the victory came against the team that had drafted him — the Carolina Panthers.

Mathis wrapped up his playing career with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016 after signing a one-year, $6 million contract in the offseason. Unfortunately, a season-ending ankle injury landed the former Alabama lineman on the injured reserve only four games in, and he ended up retiring in early 2017.

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.)