Bummed out about the NCAA Tournament being canceled? We are too. That’s why BamaInsider created its own version of March Madness to determine who is the Crimson Tide’s greatest player in the Nick Saban era.
We have compiled a 64-player field with seed rankings of No. 1 through No. 16. The tournament will be played out throughout the month and will be determined by fan voting. Fans can vote either through BamaInsider’s Twitter account (@bamainsider) or on the Talk of Champions message board. Players will be matched up against each other with the one receiving the most total votes between both mediums advancing to the next round.
Today we begin with the first half of the Tua Tagovailoa bracket.
No. 1 seed Tua Tagovailoa vs. No. 16 seed Leigh Tiffin
Tua Tagovailoa: Arguably the greatest quarterback in Alabama history, Tagovailoa holds school records in total touchdowns (96), career passing touchdowns (87), career completion percentage (69.3), single-season total touchdowns (48), single-season passing touchdowns (43), single-season passing yards (3,966), single-game touchdowns (7) and single-game passing touchdowns (6). He also provided perhaps the greatest play in Crimson Tide history with a game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith in overtime of the 2018 national championship game. Tagovailoa won both the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards in 2018 and was the runner-up for the Heisman that year.
Leigh Tiffin: Leigh Tiffin is statistically the best kicker in Alabama history. The son of legendary Crimson Tide kicker, Van Tiffin, Leigh holds the school’s record for most career field goals (83) and also holds both the No. 1 and No. 2 single-season marks with 30 made field goals in 2009 and 25 made field goals in 2007. He ranks second for the school’s single-game mark with five made field goals in 2009 and is third in both career field-goal percentage (74.8) and season field-goal percentage (85.7 in 2009). Tiffin was a member of Saban’s first national championship team at Alabama in 2009 and was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award that year.
No. 8 Jalen Hurts vs. No. 9 Calvin Ridley
Jalen Hurts: A fan favorite at Alabama, Hurts will forever be remembered for his unselfishness. Despite losing the starting quarterback job to Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, the right-hander elected to stay with the Crimson Tide for his junior season. That paid off for Alabama when he stepped in to lead the Crimson Tide to a fourth-quarter comeback over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Hurts became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Alabama under Nick Saban in 2016. He won SEC Offensive Player of the Year that season while leading the Crimson Tide to the national championship. Hurts ranks third in Alabama’s all-time touchdowns list (71) and fourth in career total yards (7,606).
Calvin Ridley: Ridley led Alabama in receiving in two of his three seasons in Tuscaloosa and helped the Crimson Tide to two national titles over that span. The South Florida native ranks No. 2 at Alabama in career receptions with 224, just four catches away from Amari Cooper’s all-time record. Ridley also ranks No. 3 in career receiving yards (2,781) and No. 5 in career receiving touchdowns (19). His last touchdown for the Crimson Tide was a game-tying, fourth-down grab in the back of the end zone to help force overtime during Alabama’s comeback win over Georgia in the 2018 national championship game.
No. 5 seed Chance Warmack vs. No. 12 seed DeVonta Smith
Chance Warmack: Known for displaying his protruding belly during games in a style referred to as “Warmacking,” Warmack was a member of three national champion teams at Alabama. The mammoth guard started for the Crimson Tide from 2010-12 and was a unanimous All-American in 2012. He was selected No. 10 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2013 NFL Draft.
DeVonta Smith: Smith is best known for being on the other end of Tua Tagovailoa’s game-winning, 41-yard touchdown during overtime of Alabama’s victory over Georgia in the 2018 national championship game. However, the clutch receiver has accomplished much more than that in his Crimson Tide career. Smith led Alabama in receiving last season, pulling in 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air. He holds Alabama’s single-game records for receiving yards (274) and receiving touchdowns (5) and is fourth on the school’s career list for receiving touchdowns with 23.
No. 4 seed Trent Richardson vs. No. 13 seed Cyrus Kouandjio
Trent Richardson: Richardson provided an instant impact upon joining the Crimson Tide, serving as a key weapon in Nick Saban’s first title-winning team at Alabama in 2009. The bruising back ended his three-year career with two national titles and earned the Doak Walker Award in 2011 along with finishing as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy that year. Richardson’s 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground in the 2011 season rank second in Alabama’s single-season list. He also ranks fifth in the school’s career list for rushing touchdowns (35) and seventh in rushing yards (3,130).
Cyrus Kouandjio: Kouandjio nearly spent his college career on the other side of the state as he announced he would be attending Auburn during National Signing Day in 2011. Fortunately for Alabama, he ended up rolling with the Tide. Kouandjio started for Alabama from 2012-13, leading the Crimson Tide to two national championships. He was a first-team All-American in 2013 and was later selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Complete Bracket
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