The Crimson Tide Football All-Time All-Stars: The Best Players at Each Position for Alabama

Let’s say you’re the coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, deciding which players should start in an NCAA football championship matchup against the toughest team in the country. But instead of choosing from the current roster, you have every player in the team’s 130-year history in your locker room. Who starts at quarterback: steady field general Bart Starr, gunslinger Joe Namath, Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, or cannon-armed Mac Jones? At featured running back, do you play bruising Derrick Henry, speedy Mark Ingram, or the punishing Johnny Musso? Which players get the call at linebacker: Butkus Award winner C.J. Mosley, Woodrow Lowe, Cornelius Bennet, or Lee Roy Jordan? Combining career stats, common sense, and a host of intangibles, veteran sportswriter Mark Mayfield imagines an embarrassment of riches and sets the all-time All-Star Crimson Tide lineup for the ages.

Mark Mayfield is a former editor-in-chief of three national magazines and worked for more than 10 years as a reporter for USA Today. He currently serves as a journalism instructor at The University of Alabama. He is the author or co-author of five books. They include: Miracle Moments in Alabama Crimson Tide Football History, Back on Top: The Alabama Crimson Tide’s 2015 Championship Football Season, and Crimson Domination: The Process Behind Alabama’s 15th National Championship.