Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 69 days

If you can believe it, we are officially under the 70-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 June 26, that means we are only 69 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. 69.

*Note: BamaOn3 is also doing a Countdown to Fall Camp, which is only 40 days away.

Who currently wears the No. 69?

Second-year offensive lineman Terrence Ferguson II will once again wear the No. 69 for Alabama. The former Fort Valley (Ga.) Peach County standout took over the number for Landon Dickerson after he wrapped up his college career back in Jan. of 2021.

Ferguson only saw action in one game during his freshman season. He played six snaps at left guard against New Mexico State in Week 11, but the hope is that the now 6-foot-4, 300-pound interior lineman can continue to develop into a high-quality backup with a chance at a starting role in 2023.

Coming out of high school in 2021, Ferguson was a four-star who was also the No. 69 player nationally, per the On3 Consensus. He rated as the No. 3 interior offensive lineman and No. 9 player from the state of Georgia. On3 was a quite a bit higher on him though, listing him as the No. 35 overall player and No. 2 interior lineman.

Who’s a noteworthy former player to wear it?

We’ve got to continue talking about Dickerson for this number, right?

I mean, the Florida State transfer came in back in 2019 and immediately became a leader and a starter for the Crimson Tide. He began his career in Tuscaloosa as the starting right guard before switching to center, a position he’d never played before, to help solidify the offensive line after Deonte Brown‘s return.

Regardless of what position he was asked to man, Dickerson thrived on and off the field. In his final collegiate season, he won the Rimington and the Jacobs Blocking Trophy while also being named a unanimous All-American and first-team All-SEC performer. Plus, he was second-team All-SEC in 2019.

After college, Dickerson was selected in the second round (No. 37 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite his nasty, physical style of play and fun personality, being selected that early on Day 2 surprised some draft pundits because of the ACL tear he’d suffered in the SEC Championship Game in Dec. of 2020.

As a rookie, he still went on to play left guard in 14 regular season games with 13 of those being starts.

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.)