Mark Ingram Won the Heisman for Alabama, Shaun Alexander Might Have Done More

While Alabama Crimson Tide fans are rightfully excited about the upcoming Mark Ingram era in the NFL, his first round selection provides cause to remember the legacy of the last Alabama running back who achieved the same.

Ingram may be the only Heisman winner in Alabama football history.  He may be the best back to ever line up in the Tide’s storied backfield.  But, no player has ever meant more to the history of Alabama football than Shaun Alexander. 

Make no mistake, this article’s premise is not to compare the abilities of these two premiere backs in Alabama's history.  It would not be fair to label either as the loser of that race. 

It is just that Ingram has gotten so much (well deserved) attention lately.  He won the Heisman Trophy.  And then a National Title.  Now he’s been drafted by a team located roughly 100 miles from the state line.  Alabama fans are already pre-ordering Ingram Saints jerseys, speculating on whether the Saints’ Tracy Porter will release his grip on Ingram’s iconic number 22.    

If Alabama ever builds statues of its Heisman winners to put alongside the statues of its national championship-winning coaches, Ingram’s mold will be first in line. 

Ingram is a great player and will forever be revered, as he should be.  But in memorializing Ingram, Alabama fans should be careful not to forget about Alexander.

The fact that Alexander was a great player is beyond dispute.  He finished his career as Alabama’s all-time leader in touchdowns and rushing yards.  His yardage title still stands.  At the time he finished his career, he was without question the greatest running back in Alabama history.

But, he was even more than that.  Alexander was the transcendent force of hope for the Alabama fan base for more than a decade of otherwise mediocre football.

After redshirting in 1995, Alexander played for Alabama from 1996 through 1999, foregoing millions to return for his senior year.  He burst on the scene as a freshman with a 291 yard game in prime time at highly rated LSU, helping Alabama advance to the 1996 SEC Championship game.

The Tide came up short against Florida in Atlanta that year, but the freshman sensation gave Tide fans reason to hope for the future. 

Little did they know what was to come next. 

Head Coach Gene Stallings retired after that season, and even Alexander could not save Alabama from its NCAA-mandated scholarship reductions and the poor coaching of Mike DuBose in 1997 or 1998.

After considering a jump to the NFL, Alexander returned for his senior season in which he led Alabama to an SEC title in 1999.  He should have won the Heisman as well, but the voters gave it to Ron Dayne instead as a career achievement award for breaking the NCAA all-time rushing record.

Even without the Heisman, though, Alexander led Alabama through a then unheard of period of turmoil to the top of the SEC and finished his Alabama career as a champion. 

And then he left, and the bottom fell out all over again.

The Tide started the following season ranked third in the nation, but soon realized how much they missed Alexander.  Without him, Alabama had no offensive identity and won three games. Without Alexander to lean on, DuBose flopped completely and was quickly shown the door.   

That 2000 season was the beginning of perhaps the worst era in the history of Alabama football.

In the following years, Alabama would suffer through yet another severe NCAA probation that included a bowl ban, a revolving door of head coaches who alternated between incompetent and uncommitted, and perhaps most importantly to Alabama fans, a sustained run of mediocrity on the field.

During much of this time, Alabama fans were soothed by the memory of the 1999 title to which Alexander led them, the Tide’s only SEC title from 1992 through 2009.  Through the remaining agonizing decade of bad football, after Alexander left, fans  were also propelled not only by their memories, but by their current pride in Alexander.  He was setting the NFL on fire, and the only high profile skill-position NFL star Alabama produced during its long exile in the days after Stallings left.

While Alexander was on top of the NFL as a Seattle Seahawk, he was still serving the face of Alabama football as well, 3,000 miles from Tuscaloosa.

For a lost decade of Alabama football, Alexander’s career was the bright star in the night, the umbrella in the rain, the only shelter from the cold.  His NFL MVP trophy and touchdown record was proof that Alabama football still mattered, even when it was stuck in the Independence Bowl.

In the last days of Alexander’s career, it was ironic that Alexander’s star began to suddenly and unexpectedly fade just as Alabama’s began to shine anew under Saban.  But by that time, Alexander had served his duty.   He had shined enough light to keep Alabama fans engaged in football until they crossed from the dark wilderness back to the other side. 

Alexander’s greatness was not defined by trophies, or even the championship his team won, but by the hope he gave to a dejected fan base as it wandered in peril. 

And for that, Heisman trophy or not, Alexander should always hold a unique place in the hearts of all who once cheered him.