Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 66 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 29, that means we are only 66 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. 66.
*Note: BamaOn3 is also doing a Countdown to Fall Camp, which is only 37 days away.
Who currently wears the No. 66?
If you haven’t noticed, there’s a noticeable gap on Alabama’s roster between the No. 65-69.
For the last couple of days, we’ve been unable to include any current players wearing the number representing how many days are left until the Utah State game on Sept. 3. Unfortunately, the No. 66 is no different, as the last player to wear it was former walk-on Brandon Cade back in 2020.
Who’s a noteworthy former player to wear it?
Cade was the last player to wear the No. 66 for Alabama. The last scholarship player to wear it was former offensive lineman Lester Cotton, who represented the number from 2015-18. Cotton, while never quite living up up to the hype that surrounds a top-60 prospect, turned out to be a good player for the Tide.
The 6-foot-4, 325-pound offensive guard started 28 games in his four seasons at Alabama. Of those, 23 came over his last two seasons. Cotton also showed the ability to play both sides, as his first 18 starts came at right guard before he made the move to left guard prior to his senior season.
After wrapping up his career at Alabama, the Tuscaloosa product went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft. He almost immediately signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, and has been playing for the franchise ever since. Granted, most of that time has been spent on the practice squad, but Cotton has also seen brief stints on the active roster.
He’s currently one of five former Alabama stars playing for the Raiders, joining Josh Jacobs, Kenyan Drake, Alex Leatherwood and Anthony Averett.
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.)
