Alabama Seniors Make Final Appearance at Bryant Denny Stadium

Nine scholarship seniors will make their final appearance at Bryant Denny Stadium Friday for the annual Iron Bowl showdown with Auburn University.  

This group of seniors is the final class that can trace roots to the Mike Shula era. Most were recruited by Mike Shula, in addition to Nick Saban, and three—Earl Alexander, David Ross and Brian Motley—were already committed to the Crimson Tide when Mike Shula was fired. 

Forty-two times they have walked off the field in victory (minus five vacated by textbook-gate) vs. only 10 losses. 

They will go to a bowl all four years, two of which were BCS bowls. They made two appearances in the SEC Championship Game—winning one—and beat Texas for the national championship in 2009.  

Only two games remain to finish out their college careers.

Here is a closer look at the nine senior members of the Crimson Tide.

No. 74 OL David Ross—6' 2", 302 (Homewood High; Homewood, Ala.)

Ross was a four-star rated offensive lineman in 2005 and committed to Mike Shula shortly after Alabama's 31-3 demolition of Florida. 

Ross redshirted in 2006. Afterward, he became one of the first players off the bench at guard. 

Ross's most accomplished season was 2008, in which he started three games and played the second half of the Clemson game. He replaced Mike Johnson, who slid over to tackle after Andre Smith was hurt.

Ross was involved in a closely-fought center battle in the spring of 2009 between himself and William Vlachos. Vlachos eventually won out and has started ever since. 

Ross has played only as a reserve since. 

Recently, Nick Saban commented:

"David Ross is probably the guy that plays the least and contributes the most, if that makes any sense. He's really into what's going on. He's like having an extra coach in the offensive line."

No. 77 OL James Carpenter—6' 5", 305 (Coffeyville Jr. College)

James Carpenter is a classic miss by the recruiting services.  

Rivals and Scout rated him only a two-star recruit at Hephzibah High School in Georgia.  He eventually committed to Iowa State, but academic issues sent him to Coffeyville Community College. 

At Coffeyville, he started both seasons at left tackle, earning All-Conference both years. Once his time there was complete, he was re-rated a four-star recruit.  

Meanwhile, over at Alabama, starting left tackle Andre Smith was graduating with no clear backup in sight. Thus, the phones at Coffeyville start to ring, and it's Nick Saban looking for a tackle. 

Carpenter signed with Alabama and quickly put a lock on the left tackle spot. He has never relinquished it or left the field due to injury. 

No. 96 DE Luther Davis—6' 4", 279 (West Monroe High; West Monroe, La.)

Luther Davis was a first team All-State, four-star rated recruit by Rivals in 20007. 

He made waves in Louisiana by spurning home state LSU for Nick Saban at Alabama. After arriving and playing as a true freshman, Davis had some personal issues that saw him off the team in the spring of 2008. 

That fall, he returned and rebounded well. 

Entering 2010, Davis was one of the more experienced lineman, having played in 34 games. In his final season, Davis has started several games at defensive end, but has been part of rotating left defensive end position that has seen Davis, Damion Square and Kerry Murphy all start games. 

As recently as last Thursday night, Davis was on top of that rotation. It's a good bet he will get plenty of snaps against the Auburn Tigers.

No. 82 WR Earl Alexander—6' 4", 200 (Central High School; Alexander City, Ala.)

Alexander was a quarterback in high school and passed for 1,200 yards his senior year. 

Rated four-star by Rivals, he signed with Alabama. It was understood he would get a shot at quarterback and switch positions if it didn't work out.

He switched quickly to wide receiver, possibly due to the success of fellow class member Greg McElroy. In the fall of 2008, Earl entered fall as the starting wide receiver, and was the last man to ever threaten a start in front of Julio Jones. 

A week before the season, Jones passed Alexander as the starter and never looked back.

Alexander was solidly in the game plan for Alabama, but a series of injuries derailed much of the next two seasons. Earl has had his best season as a senior, holding second-string wide receiver behind Julio and catching six balls for 83 yards. 

No. 66 Brian Motley—6' 1", 289 (Autaugaville High School; Autaugaville, Ala.)

Motley hails from the tiny 1A Autaugaville High School. 

He arrived as a center/guard prospect, where he was buried at fourth string. Nick Saban's first spring at Alabama, he switched him to nose guard, where he surprised everyone by winning the first-team job.

Motley was well on his way to starting in the fall of 2008, when he broke his leg. The injury derailed his season.

Afterward the influx of highly-ranked linemen on both sides of the ball have kept him from earning the starting job. Eventually, he switched back to offensive line.

Motley has been in the thick of many position battles at nose, guard and center. At the start of 2009, Motley held the starting guard spot up until a week before the season. 

Barrett Jones beat him out, and has started ever since. In his final season on campus, he is a regular contributor who comes off the bench on goal line and short yardage as an extra lineman. 

No. 58 Nick Gentry—6' 3", 282 (Prattville High School; Prattville, Ala.)

Gentry is part of the player pipeline from Prattville High that continues to this day. 

Gentry, a three-star prospect, originally committed to Mike Shula in 2007 to play in a much smaller, quicker defense. When Nick Saban signed on as coach, Gentry stuck with Alabama. 

Gentry, at 6' 1" and 265 pounds, did not fit the mold of a Nick Saban defense and played sparingly until 2009.

In 2009, he entered the game at nose when playing spread formations. His smaller size and high motor made him a valuable tool defensively.

In the winter leading up to his final season, he bulked up to 282 pounds and won the second-string nose job right behind Josh Chapman. In a season in which the pass rush seems non-existent, Nick Gentry has been one of the few players to show the quickness needed to get much penetration in the backfield. 

Nick Gentry beat the odds to play at Alabama in a system that didn't suit him, and has 10 tackles and a sack thus far in 2010.

No. 12 Greg McElroy—6' 2", 220 (Carroll High School; Southlake, Texas)

Greg McElroy was born in Los Angeles Calif., and moved to Texas when his dad was hired as a marketing and sales executive by the Dallas Cowboys.   

Greg became the second-string quarterback at powerhouse program Carroll High, where he sat behind future Missouri Tiger Chase Daniel. 

His senior season, McElroy took over as the starter and led Carroll to a 16-0 season and a Texas state championship. During his senior season, Greg passed for 4,636 yards and and amazing 56 touchdowns.  

Originally committed to Texas Tech, Greg switched his commitment to Alabama immediately after being offered. Greg was offered late by the Tide and signed when it became obvious that Tim Tebow would not.

It was a well-noted irony that the two quarterbacks would meet in the SEC championship years later, with the big-name recruit losing to the one who took his place.

McElroy caught some fans' interest in a short but spirited performance in the spring of 2007. But most fans noticed him in scrub time during the 2008 season. 

Everyone got excited when he entered the game late in a blowout over Auburn and completed a perfect bomb for a final insulting touchdown against the hated Auburn Tigers. 

Greg easily won the starting job in the spring of 2009 and guided the Crimson Tide to 19 straight victories before finally losing his first game since Jr. High school against South Carolina. 

Greg McElroy will settle in at sixth place in career passing yards, just behind fellow national-title winning quarterback Jay Barker, who started four years to McElroy's two.

No. 55 LB Chavis Williams—6' 5", 223 (Dora Highschool Dora, Ala.)

Chavis, like many members of this senior class, was committed elsewhere (Arkansas) when Nick Saban was hired at Alabama, only to jump on board the championship train. 

All got what they were hoping for in 2009.

Chavis, individually, spent most of his career buried on the depth chart. Several times, he was tried as a speed rusher, as he was lean and fast.

But little resulted.

Leading into his senior season, Williams put on some added bulk in the weight room and surprised many by earning a starting outside linebacker spot. He held off a strong charge from junior linebacker Jarrell Harris and has maintained the spot most of the season. 

Currently, Williams has 11 tackles.

No. 85 TE Preson Dial—6' 2", 250 (USM Wright High, Mobile, Ala.)

Preston Dial, who signed with Alabama in 2006, played sparingly for most of his career. 

A bit small for a tight end at 237, he settled in at the H-Back position.  

In 2009, Dial made a major move up the depth chart. Though he didn't have many stats during the championship season, he was on the field often and was a common sight in downfield blocking.

Dial put on some significant bulk for his senior year, getting up to 250 pounds, and has been a solid starter this season. Dial's leadership has been invaluable this season, and his 18 catches and three touchdowns leads all the tight ends.

Possibly the End for More

Three years after high school, all college players are eligible to declare early for the NFL draft. 

Alabama has several players who could possibly go in the first round, making the decision to forgo their senior year likely.

Safety Mark Barron, defensive end Marcel Dareus, wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram will all likely evaluate jumping to the NFL after the season.

Ingram and Jones are probably a lock for the first round and are unlikely to remain at Alabama. But the possibility of an NFL lockout due to the labor dispute could change those plans. 

Spending a year out of live action is the last thing they want to do at this critical time of development.   

Most of these players were on the sideline when last the Auburn Tigers beat them in the Iron Bowl, and know well the nasty feeling that is. They would all love to close out their amazing college careers with a big Iron Bowl victory. 

Winning against Auburn could give Alabama an outside shot at their third BCS bowl game in four years.

No matter what happens from here on out they, all got what they came for when they signed with the Crimson Tide: a championship ring.  They will always be known as champions.

Finally

I simply cannot finish this article without mentioning the anomaly that is Robert Ezell. 

Ezell was an All-State quarterback at Athens High, but walked on Alabama as a receiver. He never threatened to gain any playing time, but nonetheless became a part of the team. 

Ezell's late-game snaps at quarterback against Georgia State must have provided a Kodak moment for his family that will never be forgotten.

What 'Bama fans will never forget, however, is his unbelievable impersonation of Nick Saban.  I leave you with this a link to this bit of cinematic Tide history: