🏈 Shaun Alexander Chosen as Alabama Football’s 2018 SEC Legend

[JoshB]

The former Crimson Tide All-American will be honored during the Weekend of Champions
prior to the SEC Championship Game

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Former Alabama All-American Shaun Alexander was named to the
Southeastern Conference’s 2018 Football Legends Class on Tuesday, the league office
announced.

Alexander was regarded as one of the most productive backs in the country during his
four seasons at Alabama from 1996-99. He burst onto the scene with a 291-yard
performance as a freshman against LSU, then rushed for more than 1,000 yards in both
his junior and senior seasons.

He earned First Team All-America honors as a senior, leading the Crimson Tide to the
1999 SEC Championship. He left Tuscaloosa with 15 rushing records, including the
career total yardage mark of 3,565 that stood until 2015.

Alexander was selected in the first round (19th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft by
the Seattle Seahawks. He was the NFL Most Valuable Player in 2005 and was named to
the NFL's 2000 All-Decade Team. In 2011, Alexander was voted into the Alabama Sports
Hall of Fame.

The class will be honored at the 2018 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” from Nov.
30-Dec. 1 in Atlanta, Ga. The annual SEC Legends Dinner presented by AT&T will be
held on Friday, Nov. 30 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, and the group will also be
recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on
Dec. 1.

 

[BamaFisher]

First away game I ever went to. Was in the student away game lottery and had just enough hours to squeak two tickets to LSU. Sat in a pile of LSU fans and I seem to remember losing all our RBs right off the bat. Then this guy comes in and absolutely mauls LSU. Those guys around us kept saying “who the hell is that?!?” and we kept saying “we don’t know!” They invited us to their tailgate after the game and we drank and talked and partied all night. We slept in lawn chairs (sort of) and drove back to Tuscaloosa the next day. Great time and I’ll always remember Shaun for the best away game experience of my life.

 

[TUSKtimes]

First away game I ever went to. Was in the student away game lottery and had just enough hours to squeak two tickets to LSU. Sat in a pile of LSU fans and I seem to remember losing all our RBs right off the bat. Then this guy comes in and absolutely mauls LSU. Those guys around us kept saying “who the hell is that?!?” and we kept saying “we don’t know!” They invited us to their tailgate after the game and we drank and talked and partied all night. We slept in lawn chairs (sort of) and drove back to Tuscaloosa the next day. Great time and I’ll always remember Shaun for the best away game experience of my life.

I too remember Shaun running wild in Baton Rouge his freshman season, thinking where has this guy been all year. I really think he was plenty good enough to have been our first Heisman winner. If he had been a few years earlier with the 92 team or anytime during the Saban era and the trophy would have Alexander's name on it. A beautiful style of running.

 

[footballer]

I'm glad Alexander was on our side. LOL at Gary Dinardo, did he invent or just perfect the Lost Look?

 

[bamatommy]

The former Crimson Tide All-American will be honored during the Weekend of Champions
prior to the SEC Championship Game

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Former Alabama All-American Shaun Alexander was named to the
Southeastern Conference’s 2018 Football Legends Class on Tuesday, the league office
announced.

Alexander was regarded as one of the most productive backs in the country during his
four seasons at Alabama from 1996-99. He burst onto the scene with a 291-yard
performance as a freshman against LSU, then rushed for more than 1,000 yards in both
his junior and senior seasons.

He earned First Team All-America honors as a senior, leading the Crimson Tide to the
1999 SEC Championship. He left Tuscaloosa with 15 rushing records, including the
career total yardage mark of 3,565 that stood until 2015.

Alexander was selected in the first round (19th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft by
the Seattle Seahawks. He was the NFL Most Valuable Player in 2005 and was named to
the NFL's 2000 All-Decade Team. In 2011, Alexander was voted into the Alabama Sports
Hall of Fame.

The class will be honored at the 2018 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” from Nov.
30-Dec. 1 in Atlanta, Ga. The annual SEC Legends Dinner presented by AT&T will be
held on Friday, Nov. 30 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, and the group will also be
recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on
Dec. 1.

My favorite Crimson Tide running back, with Derrick Henry right behind him.

 

[bamatommy]

First away game I ever went to. Was in the student away game lottery and had just enough hours to squeak two tickets to LSU. Sat in a pile of LSU fans and I seem to remember losing all our RBs right off the bat. Then this guy comes in and absolutely mauls LSU. Those guys around us kept saying “who the hell is that?!?” and we kept saying “we don’t know!” They invited us to their tailgate after the game and we drank and talked and partied all night. We slept in lawn chairs (sort of) and drove back to Tuscaloosa the next day. Great time and I’ll always remember Shaun for the best away game experience of my life.

I too remember Shaun running wild in Baton Rouge his freshman season, thinking where has this guy been all year. I really think he was plenty good enough to have been our first Heisman winner. If he had been a few years earlier with the 92 team or anytime during the Saban era and the trophy would have Alexander's name on it. A beautiful style of running.

Absolutely. He finished seventh in the Heisman voting, which is outrageous.

 

[JoshB]

First away game I ever went to. Was in the student away game lottery and had just enough hours to squeak two tickets to LSU. Sat in a pile of LSU fans and I seem to remember losing all our RBs right off the bat. Then this guy comes in and absolutely mauls LSU. Those guys around us kept saying “who the hell is that?!?” and we kept saying “we don’t know!” They invited us to their tailgate after the game and we drank and talked and partied all night. We slept in lawn chairs (sort of) and drove back to Tuscaloosa the next day. Great time and I’ll always remember Shaun for the best away game experience of my life.

I too remember Shaun running wild in Baton Rouge his freshman season, thinking where has this guy been all year. I really think he was plenty good enough to have been our first Heisman winner. If he had been a few years earlier with the 92 team or anytime during the Saban era and the trophy would have Alexander's name on it. A beautiful style of running.

Absolutely. He finished seventh in the Heisman voting, which is outrageous.

The ankle injury at midseason screwed him. While he was sitting on the bench against Southern Miss (a game he probably would have put up 200+) and then limited against LSU and Mississippi State, Ron Dayne was putting up video game numbers.

Up until Alexander was injured they were pretty much even in terms of the production.
Alexander:
Week 1: 26 carries, 109 yards, 2 TD; 4 catches, 85 yards, 1 TD (vs. Vandy)
Week 2: 27 carries, 167 yards, 2 TD; 1 catch, 25 yards (vs. Houston)
Week 3: 30 carries, 173 yards, 2 TD; 1 KR, 76 yards, 1 TD (vs. Louisiana Tech)
Week 4: 34 carries, 165 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, 4 yards (vs. Arkansas)
Week 5: 28 carries, 106 yards, 3 TD; 4 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD (vs. Florida)
Week 6: 36 carries, 214 yards, 3 TD; 1 catch, 6 yards (vs. Ole Miss)
Week 7: 20 carries, 98 yards; 6 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD (vs. Tennessee)
TOTAL: 201 carries, 1,032 yards, 13 TD; 17 catches, 264 yards, 3 TD; 1 KR, 76 yards, 1 TD; 1,372 all-purpose yards, 17 total TD

Dayne:
Week 1: 20 carries, 135 yards, 3 TD; 1 catch, 9 yards (vs. Murray State)
Week 2: 31 carries, 158 yards, 1 TD (vs. Ball State)
Week 3: 28 carries, 231 yards, 1 TD (vs. Cincinnati)
Week 4: 22 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD (vs. Michigan)
Week 5: 32 carries, 161 yards, 4 TD (vs. Ohio State)
Week 6: 25 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD (vs. Minnesota)
Week 7: 17 carries, 167 yards, 2 TD (vs. Indiana)
TOTAL: 175 carries, 1,020 yards, 13 TD; 1 catch, 9 yards; 1,029 all-purpose yards, 13 total TD

Then Dayne ripped off four 200+ games in the last five. Two of those coming when Alexander was out or limited. By the time Shaun bounced back with that crazy game against Auburn and then the SEC Championship and bowl game people had forgotten about how he and Dayne were neck-and-neck for the first half of the season. Then others like Drew Brees and Joe Hamilton got put into the spotlight with some crazy games on national TV.

 

[bamachine]

Dayne was mostly his OL, while Shaun did much of his on his own. Dayne had like 4 future NFL starters and a couple of pro bowlers blocking for him. Shaun had Samuels and the rest were average college linemen. Of course, there is a reason Shaun liked to run off the left side more often than not.

 

[JoshB]

Dayne was mostly his OL, while Shaun did much of his on his own. Dayne had like 4 future NFL starters and a couple of pro bowlers blocking for him. Shaun had Samuels and the rest were average college linemen. Of course, there is a reason Shaun liked to run off the left side more often than not.

Chris McIntosh was the ONLY player on that line that was a first round pick or pro bowler and only he and Mark Tauscher lasted more than 2 years in the league. Saying that it was "mostly the OL" is overstating things a bit dont you think? Not to mention Shaun had literally the best offensive lineman in the country that year and probably the best fullback in the country. Shaun surely didn't "do it alone", no running back can or does save for maybe Barry Sanders.

 

[bamachine]

Dayne was mostly his OL, while Shaun did much of his on his own. Dayne had like 4 future NFL starters and a couple of pro bowlers blocking for him. Shaun had Samuels and the rest were average college linemen. Of course, there is a reason Shaun liked to run off the left side more often than not.

Chris McIntosh was the ONLY player on that line that was a first round pick or pro bowler and only he and Mark Tauscher lasted more than 2 years in the league. Saying that it was "mostly the OL" is overstating things a bit dont you think? Not to mention Shaun had literally the best offensive lineman in the country that year and probably the best fullback in the country. Shaun surely didn't "do it alone", no running back can or does save for maybe Barry Sanders.

There were several NFL starters on that OL for Wiscy, I did not say they were all 1st rounders. May have stretched it a little. I also did not say Shaun did it all by himself just much of it(see the stats below). Also, the run defense on the teams he played was of a higher caliber. I figured it up one time(back in '99, when he got robbed, not necessarily from winning but being so far behind Dayne in the voting) and Alexander had like a 3 YPC better average after contact than Dayne, also like 75% of Dayne's yards came without contact, compared to like 30% of Alexander's yards. For a big guy, Shaun was kinda slippery.

 

[252BAMA]

I always said Shaun didn't need but two blocks and he had the Outland trophy winner and debatably the best blocking back in CFB to give him those two blocks. And that seven of the nine opponents left couldn't catch him and the two that could weren't big enough to tackle him.

 

[JoshB]

Dayne was mostly his OL, while Shaun did much of his on his own. Dayne had like 4 future NFL starters and a couple of pro bowlers blocking for him. Shaun had Samuels and the rest were average college linemen. Of course, there is a reason Shaun liked to run off the left side more often than not.

Chris McIntosh was the ONLY player on that line that was a first round pick or pro bowler and only he and Mark Tauscher lasted more than 2 years in the league. Saying that it was "mostly the OL" is overstating things a bit dont you think? Not to mention Shaun had literally the best offensive lineman in the country that year and probably the best fullback in the country. Shaun surely didn't "do it alone", no running back can or does save for maybe Barry Sanders.

There were several NFL starters on that OL for Wiscy, I did not say they were all 1st rounders. May have stretched it a little. I also did not say Shaun did it all by himself just much of it(see the stats below). Also, the run defense on the teams he played was of a higher caliber. I figured it up one time(back in '99, when he got robbed, not necessarily from winning but being so far behind Dayne in the voting) and Alexander had like a 3 YPC better average after contact than Dayne, also like 75% of Dayne's yards came without contact, compared to like 30% of Alexander's yards. For a big guy, Shaun was kinda slippery.

There were three on that line that ended up becoming starters. I missed one.

OT: Mark Tauscher (7th round pick but ended up being a starter for Green Bay for years)
OG: Bill Ferrario (4th round draft pick, played as a backup as a rookie and then never played again. Not a single start)
C: Casey Rabach (third round draft pick, ended up being a solid starter for a few years for Washington - this is the one I missed)
OG: Dave Costa (undrafted free agent, never even played in a game let alone start)
OT: Chris McIntosh (first round pick, pro bowler and probably future Hall of Famer)

Compare that to Alabama
OT: Chris Samuels (first round pick, Outland Trophy winner, pro bowler and probably future Hall of Famer)
OG: Griff Redmill (a message board favorite, signed with San Diego Chargers and played two years but never started)
C: Paul Hogan (undrafted and never played in NFL but was an All-SEC and All American center)
OG: Will Cuthbert (signed with New Orleans Saints, never started but played for Detroit Lions for a few years. Was an All-SEC OG)
OT: Dante Ellington (left Alabama early weirdly and didnt get drafted. Signed with Arizona and played three years there, starting two games)

So, you would def. say as far as NFL goes, Dayne had the better O-Line overall but both had All-SEC and All Americans. I dont know who had the tougher competition, defense-wise, because the only games I saw of Wiscky back then were the bowl games. It's not like the SEC's defenses were world beaters back then, though. I'm not arguing that Shaun didn't get robbed by being so low on the final list, So don't get me wrong. I'm giving the reasons why and saying it's not fair to not give Dayne any credit or say he didn't deserve it because he had a great O-Line. No one says that about Mark Ingram or Derrick Henry despite them having a ton of All Americans and future NFL starters blocking for them.

We all know who had the better NFL career, too and ironically enough one of Dayne's college teammates was blocking for Shaun in the NFL.

 

[bamachine]

^Not going to quote the whole post. We are not as far apart as it might seem. As for the better defenses thing, I based that off of how good the rush defenses they faced were back then. I did a lot of research, back then and Alexander beat out Dayne in every metric except total yards. I did something similar with Ingram, to back up why he deserved it over Gerhart. Again, he was better in almost every metric except total yards. That year, the only one I thought might deserve it over Ingram would have been Suh but we all know they will never give it to a defense only player.

 

[JoshB]

^Not going to quote the whole post. We are not as far apart as it might seem. As for the better defenses thing, I based that off of how good the rush defenses they faced were back then. I did a lot of research, back then and Alexander beat out Dayne in every metric except total yards. I did something similar with Ingram, to back up why he deserved it over Gerhart. Again, he was better in almost every metric except total yards. That year, the only one I thought might deserve it over Ingram would have been Suh but we all know they will never give it to a defense only player.

I would argue that the SEC's defenses in 2009 where a world away from the SEC in 1999, though. I'm really not even arguing that honestly, because - like I said - I watched very little Big 10 back then (I was like 13 lol but football obsessed granted). Had Alexander not been injured against Tennessee I would wager to bet he would have put up comparable numbers to Dayne. Maybe not 2,000 rushing yards but at least 2,000 all-purpose yards. I mean he had around 1,800 all-purpose yards and something like 25 total touchdowns even with missing one full game and being limited in two others. Hell, he was still limping after every play in the Iron Bowl and SEC Championship. We saw what a healthy Alexander would do in the Orange Bowl. There's no telling what he would have done behind a line like that 2012 line either, yikes.

 

[bamachine]

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

 

[JoshB]

Yeah, I can't remember why he didn't play though. Knee maybe? It's hard not to blame the kickers but man, Tom Brady shredded that defense to pieces that night. And Tom Brady in 1999 was a far cry from Tom Brady now lol

 

[252BAMA]

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

Damned Dumbose! You have arguably the best RB in America. You have the ball on the 3 yard line down one point You have a defense that Tom Brady is going through like the proveriable hot knife through butter. Even if you kick the damn XP, the next time you have the ball it will be at the 25 yard line down 7 points. RUN THE DAMN BALL FOR TWO POINTS, GET ON THE BUS, GO TO THE AIRPORT, GET ON THE PLANE, FLY HOME WITH A W!!!

Fisher DeBerry would have won the damn game. He never kicked an XP in OT, and he never had a RB anywhere near the caliber of Shaun Alexander to run the two point conversion.

 

[JoshB]

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

Damned Dumbose! You have arguably the best RB in America. You have the ball on the 3 yard line down one point You have a defense that Tom Brady is going through like the proveriable hot knife through butter. Even if you kick the damn XP, the next time you have the ball it will be at the 25 yard line down 7 points. RUN THE DAMN BALL FOR TWO POINTS, GET ON THE BUS, GO TO THE AIRPORT, GET ON THE PLANE, FLY HOME WITH A W!!!

Fisher DeBerry would have won the damn game. He never kicked an XP in OT, and he never had a RB anywhere near the caliber of Shaun Alexander to run the two point conversion.

I've heard a ton of criticism for DuBose, a lot of very warranted but this may be one of the more silly ones I've ever seen.

 

[252BAMA]

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

Damned Dumbose! You have arguably the best RB in America. You have the ball on the 3 yard line down one point You have a defense that Tom Brady is going through like the proveriable hot knife through butter. Even if you kick the damn XP, the next time you have the ball it will be at the 25 yard line down 7 points. RUN THE DAMN BALL FOR TWO POINTS, GET ON THE BUS, GO TO THE AIRPORT, GET ON THE PLANE, FLY HOME WITH A W!!!

Fisher DeBerry would have won the damn game. He never kicked an XP in OT, and he never had a RB anywhere near the caliber of Shaun Alexander to run the two point conversion.

I've heard a ton of criticism for DuBose, a lot of very warranted but this may be one of the more silly ones I've ever seen.

Silly to give the ball back to Brady? Silly to run a RB for 2 points on a 3 yard run; one that has given you 6 points on a 5 yard run, 6 points on a 6 yard run, and 6 points on a 50 yard run?

SCORING

Second Quarter
AL Alexander 5-yard run (Pflugner kick)
AL Alexander 6-yard run (Pflugner kick)
M Terrell 27-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick

Third Quarter
M Terrell 57-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick)
AL Alexander 50-yard run (Pflugner kick)
AL Milons 62-yard punt return (Pflugner kick)
M Terrell 20-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick)
M Thomas 3-yard run (Epstein kick)

Overtime

M Thompson 25-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick)
AL Carter 21-yard pass from Zow (Pflugner kick failed)

 

[JoshB]

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

^Also, I don't know if you recall this but Shaun did not have Samuels blocking for him in that Orange Bowl. Damned kickers.

Damned Dumbose! You have arguably the best RB in America. You have the ball on the 3 yard line down one point You have a defense that Tom Brady is going through like the proveriable hot knife through butter. Even if you kick the damn XP, the next time you have the ball it will be at the 25 yard line down 7 points. RUN THE DAMN BALL FOR TWO POINTS, GET ON THE BUS, GO TO THE AIRPORT, GET ON THE PLANE, FLY HOME WITH A W!!!

Fisher DeBerry would have won the damn game. He never kicked an XP in OT, and he never had a RB anywhere near the caliber of Shaun Alexander to run the two point conversion.

I've heard a ton of criticism for DuBose, a lot of very warranted but this may be one of the more silly ones I've ever seen.

Silly to give the ball back to Brady? Silly to run a RB for 2 points on a 3 yard run; one that has given you 6 points on a 5 yard run, 6 points on a 6 yard run, and 6 points on a 50 yard run?

SCORING

Second Quarter
AL Alexander 5-yard run (Pflugner kick)
AL Alexander 6-yard run (Pflugner kick)
M Terrell 27-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick

Third Quarter
M Terrell 57-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick)
AL Alexander 50-yard run (Pflugner kick)
AL Milons 62-yard punt return (Pflugner kick)
M Terrell 20-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick)
M Thomas 3-yard run (Epstein kick)

Overtime

M Thompson 25-yard pass from Brady (Epstein kick)
AL Carter 21-yard pass from Zow (Pflugner kick failed)

Well, I was going to say stupid but I was trying to be nice.