Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 75 days

If you can believe it, we are officially at the 75-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 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 20, that means we are only 75 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 then.

With opening week 75 days away, let’s focus on a player — both past and present — who has represented that number.

*Note: BamaOn3 is also doing a Countdown to Fall Camp, which is only 46 days away.

Who currently wears the No. 75?

At this time, there isn’t anyone wearing the No. 75 for Alabama. For the past four seasons, it had been offensive lineman Tommy Brown, but the former Mater Dei (Calif.) standout entered the transfer portal decided to take his talents Colorado earlier this offseason.

Over his four years playing for the Crimson Tide, Brown played in 29 games with his first-career start coming last season against New Mexico State in Week 11.

Who’s a noteworthy former player to wear it?

Alabama has seen a couple of quality offensive linemen come through and don the No. 75 during the Nick Saban era. Bradley Bozeman is certainly a player worth mentioning, but there’s another who, to this day, remains one of the most-decorated players in program history — Barrett Jones.

Jones was a part of that first No. 1 recruiting class for Saban back in 2008. You know, the same one that also included future stars such as Julio Jones, Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw, Mark Ingram, Dont’a Hightower, Marcell Dareus and Terrence Cody. That’s quite the group to share association, right?

All of those guys were selected higher than Jones, and most of them went on to have better NFL careers. But make no mistake, the versatile offensive lineman out of Memphis (Tenn.) was one of the most integral parts to Saban’s early success in Tuscaloosa.

In his five seasons at Alabama, Jones started 52 games. He made 25 of those starts at guard, 13 at left tackle and the other 14 at center. He was a starter at three different positions for three different national championship teams. That’s still mind-blowing, when you think about it.

Jones won the Outland Trophy while at left tackle, the Rimington after switching to center and a slew of other individual awards. He was first-team All-SEC in back-to-back seasons while also earning unanimous All-American honors in 2011 and consensus honors in 2012. When we saw decorated, we mean it.

Despite all his college success, his physical limitations capped his NFL potential.

He fell to the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round (No. 113 overrall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he only participated in 10 games for the franchise over two seasons before being waived back in 2015. From there, he had brief stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.

Even if his NFL career didn’t yield the same results as college, Jones will forever be an Alabama legend.

He was known for being a fantastic teammate, and also providing quality leadership en route to several of the Crimson Tide’s title runs. Plus, he’ll always be known for this hilarious spat with quarterback AJ McCarron while beating up on Notre Dame 42-14:

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.)