🏈 Derrick Henry, Amari Cooper among past, present Alabama players set to graduate

[Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com]

Derrick Henry, Amari Cooper among past, present Alabama players set to graduate

More than 20 current and former Alabama football players are set to graduate this weekend, including a Heisman Trophy winner and several other former All-Americans.

The three biggest names graduating this weekend are three current NFL standouts: Derrick Henry, Amari Cooper and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

Along with Henry, two other ex-Crimson Tide star running backs are also set to graduate: Siran Stacy, a 1992 second-round draft pick, and Sherman Williams, a 1995 second-round pick.

Also set to receive degrees this weekend are two of last year's permanent team captains, center Bradley Bozeman and linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, as well as some current players like safety Keaton Anderson, defensive lineman Johnny Dwight, tight end Hale Hentges, linebacker Jamey Mosley and offensive lineman Richie Petitbon.

Offensive lineman Dallas Warmack, who confirmed Wednesday that he's leaving the Tide as a graduate transfer, is also graduating.

In all, more than 100 Alabama student-athletes are receiving degrees this weekend.

Among the others: basketball point guard Avery Johnson Jr. and All-American gymnasts Lauren Beers, Mackenzie Brannan and Keely McNeer.

 

[JoshB]

Pretty sure I read Julio just started taking classes again, too.

 

[BamaFan334]

Awesome job fellas. Proud of these guys finishing what they started.

 

[TUSKtimes]

This is exciting news and really the smart thing to do. All of them had to be really close to graduation anyway. They obviously love football and getting that degree gives them the avenue to get into coaching or even NFL management if they are so inclined when their playing days are over. Hey, worked for Ozzie.

 

[Bamabww]

Alabama football players receiving degrees this weekend
Keaton Anderson

Bradley Bozeman

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

Amari Cooper

David D’Amico

Johnny Dwight

Derrick Garnett

Bo Grant

Shaun Dion Hamilton

Joseph Harvey

Derrick Henry

Hale Hentges

Swade Hutchinson

Bernel Jones

Preston Jones

Walker Jones

Vohn Keith Jr.

Jamey Mosley

Richie Petitbon

Jonathan Rice

Siran Stacy

Dallas Warmack

Sherman Williams

Alabama Athletics

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[bamachine]

Love that Siran and Sherman came back to get theirs. Both have had their own real life issues to deal with, Siran's was not of his own making.

 

[JoshB]

 

[Google Inc.]

Former Alabama football star graduates after 15 years in prison

Sherman Williams ran with a football for the University of Alabama and for the Dallas Cowboys.

Later, he ran from the law.

On Sunday, he walked to get his degree. Williams, who played for the Crimson Tide in the 1990s – and who spent 15 years in federal prison – graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in community leadership.

The 44-year-old native of Mobile, who was convicted in 2000 of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and passing counterfeit currency, returned to school in January 2017 to complete his degree work taking mostly online classes, with a few weekend courses on campus.

Williams, who was released in 2014, spends his time now working at a car dealership and doing motivational speaking to youth as part of the Palmer Williams Group with former UA teammate David Palmer.

“My message to the kids is always work hard, hard work pays off, and anything you set your mind to do you can do it,” he said. “Have passion at it, work hard at it, have the discipline and determination and it will come through for you.”

It was another part of his message that helped him decide to go back to college.

“I preach the importance of education to the kids as well,” he said.

Williams won a state championship in high school, a national championship with Alabama as part of the 1992 team – scoring the first touchdown in the title game against Miami – and a Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys. Football had always been his priority.

“I was going to college because I was trying to get to the next step,” he said. “My whole mind-frame was focused on trying to get to the NFL.

“Education wasn’t my priority back then, but it wasn’t a situation where I didn’t care about it. I figured that one day when I got older I would probably come back and try to finish, so I did take the proper classes.”

Williams had accumulated 94 hours of class credit during his playing years at UA, leaving him 26 hours short of his degree. Before he could start back, however, he had to be approved for readmission due to his criminal record.

“There were certain obstacles in place even though tuition was covered by the university,” he said. “I had to be reinstated to be accepted to be a student again.”

Palmer, who also went on to play in the NFL, roomed with Williams in college. He stuck by his friend through the trial and incarceration. He understands what this achievement means for WIlliams.

“Him graduating means a lot with all he’s been through the last 20 years because it’s something his mom wanted him to do and he felt like he disappointed her one time,” Palmer said. “He feels like this will make up for the wrong that he’s done.

“It is a real big deal. Being out of school about 20 years and then going back to get your degree, that’s very special. It means a whole to him and it means a whole lot to me and his family.”

Williams emerged from prison to find a different world.

“Everything has gone digital,” he said. “You’ve got to be technologically savvy to keep up. That was one of the things I had to adjust to. When I went in you had a flip phone and maybe had a pager, those types of things.”

The Alabama campus had been transformed over time.

“Oh man, it’s like half the campus has been wiped away and rebuilt,” he said. “The basic foundations of the campus, Rose Administration and all those type of things, are still there. The Strip has changed. The Houndstooth ain’t the same old Houndstooth and the Ivory Tusk has disappeared. Now there’s a big Publix on campus.

“The facilities, the whole football complex has changed.”

So has Williams. He talks about getting a degree as an exhilarating experience, but also one that helps him belong: many of his peers have degrees, and having his own will make him feel less awkward around them.

More importantly, he says he is a different man from the one who chose a path that landed him behind bars.

“I was a gifted athlete but I was a fool with a capital F-O-O-L, doing foolish things,” he said. “Myself today is 20 years older, that’s one thing. With 20 years of maturity you get a little wiser. I’m smarter.

“And now I’m educated.”

Reach Tommy Deas at tommy@tidesports.com or at 205-722-022

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Siran's story is just way to sad....

 

[mando]

Siran's story is just way to sad....

It is sad but also inspiring. For christians, as I am sure many on here are, we explain this as the healing power of Christ.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Siran's story is just way to sad....

No one can prepare themselves for that shock. But Sherman William's story was an incredible fall from grace. Spending 14 years in prison and still making something out of your life is rather amazing too. Those 2 could be the poster child for never giving up.

 

[sean]

i find it sad that all some people will see is the criminal part of Sherman's life. yes, he did what he did. and he paid for it. and when he got out, he did something to try and better himself and his life. but all that some will ever see are those 15 years he spent in prison.

we've all done foolish things, myself included. we haven't all spent time in prison for it; but we've all certainly done foolish things. and my hope for him is for people to look past that part of his life and see the person he's become and still trying to be. i have to admire someone like that. he could've wallowed in sadness and regret about what might've been. instead, he re-enrolled in classes and got a college education and a degree.

ROLL TIDE Sherman! and ROLL TIDE to all the other former players who came back to get their degree!

 

[50+yeartidefan]

we've all done foolish things, myself included. we haven't all spent time in prison for it; but we've all certainly done foolish things. [BGCOLOR=transparent]![/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=transparent][/BGCOLOR]

AMEN Brother..... maybe not prison....but...gasp......47 years of marriage....the pain and suffering one endures....(just joking..incase Ms50+ sneaks and reads this)