16 college football greats who’d lead their former team to the 2017 title
By Zach Bigalke
Alabama enters every season as a favorite to win the SEC and play for a national title. That has been the case pretty much as long as Nick Saban has been in Tuscaloosa. Under Saban, the Crimson Tide have won four BCS and CFP championships. Every year the Tide lose plenty of talent to the NFL, and every year Saban seems to retool the team for another run at the crown.
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Saban certainly has a few linebackers stashed on his depth chart that can step in and perform in 2017. But the losses of Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson, and Tim Williams will undoubtedly have an impact on a defense that was already susceptible to giving up points.
Imagine what would happen if Saban could resurrect the greatest Tide linebacker and bring him back to Tuscaloosa in his prime, though.
Derrick Thomas remains the single-season FBS record holder in sacks after posting 27 for the Tide in 1988. From Alabama, Thomas went on to a highly productive 11-year NFL career, amassing more than 100 sacks for the Kansas City Chiefs. That career was cut short when Thomas was paralyzed in a car accident in January 2000 and died two weeks later. He would thrive in Saban’s defense and elevate the Tide to clear title favorites.