Unsung Heroes Maintain a Critical Yet Quiet Role in Alabama Football's Success

Bryce Young. Jahmyr Gibbs. Will Anderson. Jordan Battle.

If you've followed Alabama football this season, odds are high that you've heard those names mentioned throughout the Crimson Tide's games. From Young winning the Heisman Trophy last season to Anderson's nickname of 'Terminator', there are multiple players that possess household names among the Alabama fanbase.

But what about those players whose names aren't mentioned quite as often?

Alabama football has quite a number of unsung heroes on its 2022 team, ranging from wide receiver to defensive line. While players like Gibbs or Battle might take up a good bit of the spotlight, there are still plenty of other contributors on the team that might not have the accolade but certainly work just as hard week-in and week-out for the betterment of the team.

Last week on the Hey Coach radio show, Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked about those unsung heroes. His answer was lengthy yet revealing. Here are the quotes that bookended his answer that ranged over several minutes:

"I think we have quite a few players who are sort of — I don’t know if you’d want to call them unsung heroes — guys that really play with a lot of consistency that don’t get a lot of credit," Saban said. "[...] To me, those kinds of guys, your character kind of gets evaluated by what you do when nobody else is watching, and a lot of times, football players are evaluated by the things that people don’t really watch because everybody watches the ball.

"In football, everybody watches the ball. Nobody watches the line play. If you throw the ball, they just watch the ball to see if a guy caught it. If a guy catches a lot, he gets a lot of accolades. But if he plays on special teams and is the best blocker and all that, nobody ever talks about him."

Throughout his answer, Saban named players on both sides of the football. On offense, he named wide receivers in particular: Kendrick Law, Isaiah Bond and Ja'Corey Brooks. Additionally, he credited the entire offensive line.

The credit of Brooks might raise some eyebrows as many fans might not consider him an unsung hero. Prior to the transfer portal additions of Jermaine Burton and Tyler Harrell, Brooks was poised to be Alabama's breakout wide receiver in 2022. However, the adding of Burton and Harrell very quickly overshadowed Brooks in what appeared to be a crowded wide receiver room.

Through 10 games this season, Brooks leads the Crimson Tide in both receiving yards (534) and receiving touchdowns (six), yet remains a quiet member on the roster.

When asked about his status as an unsung hero, Brooks chose not to accept the title given to him by Saban and instead deflected to his teammates.

And that refusal of the title of 'hero' is exactly why Brooks is one, albeit an unsung one.

Offensive players weren't the only ones listed by Saban, though. On defense, Saban listed a player from each position group: lineman Byron Young, linebacker Dallas Turner and defensive back DeMarcco Hellams.

Young in particular received the most praise from Saban.

"Nobody talks a lot about him," Saban said of Young. "The guy is always in the right place, always plays hard, plays hurt. You have to have a lot of respect for just how he competes in the game."

Young shared a lot of time in the spotlight for his performance in Alabama's 30-24 win at Ole Miss last weekend. In the game, Young tied with Hellams for a team-leading 11 tackles, including two sacks. On the Rebels' final drive of the game, Young had two key stops of quarterback Jaxson Dart, resulting in a fourth down that ultimately failed and won the game for the Crimson Tide.

Young might have shared a moment in the spotlight, but overall he still remains an unsung hero on the team. After the game, Young was asked about how he was able to make the plays needed late in the game to win.

Just like Brooks, Young took the time to talk about his teammates rather than himself.

“I think we just all executed,” Young said. “I really think that’s what it is. I think when you look at the past games, it just comes down to mental errors and poor execution, so tonight I think we showed that when we execute, we can be a good defense.”

Every team is composed of heroes both renowned and unrecognized. While those that are in the spotlight deserve the attention more often than not, those quiet contributors serve an equally valuable purpose to the team.

If it were up to Saban, he's prefer to have more guys that do what's expected of them for the team rather than an entire roster of superstars.

"I think it’s important to have a whole team of guys like that," Saban said. "I think if everybody is putting the team first and want to do what they can do to help develop themselves so that they create value for their future and opportunities in their future, as well as whatever their role on is the team — you know, do it the best you can do it so the team has the best chance to sort of develop the kind of personality as well as the intangibles that you need to be a great competitor."

An issue on the 2022 Alabama team that has been brought up time and time again by Saban is that of pressure and the anxiety that comes as a result. Anxiety can come from a multitude of sources, but outside influences are what Saban cites the most as the reasoning behind this year's team's woes.

Prior to this season, Alabama was a favorite to win the national title and with good reason. However, its current 8-2 record is incredibly unlikely to get them there at this point barring epic collapses from most of the teams in front of it. For the two losses on the Crimson Tide's record, Saban attributed them both in part to anxiety from the fans, the media and other voices.

However, Saban said that a part of the unsung heroes' role is not just how he plays on the field, but also how he handles the pressure both on and off of it.

"Look, there’s a lot of distractions out there," Saban said. "Guys have to choose to focus on the right thing. Can’t worry about all the stuff — you’ve heard me talk about it before. External noise, rat poison, whatever you want to talk about, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent.

"When you step on the field to compete, you need to be focused on what you need to do to play the best you can to dominate your box against whatever the challenge is, whether you’re an offensive lineman, a defensive back, a linebacker. It doesn’t matter. That’s a challenge. It’s more challenging now than it’s ever been before."

Winning football games is no easy task, even for the most skilled of teams. It's a game that relies on the entire team, not just individuals. While there will certainly be players like Bryce Young and Will Anderson that will go down as Crimson Tide legends, others like Ja'Corey Brooks and Byron Young can hold their heads high knowing that they were key contributors to the team's success.

Alabama might not have another championship trophy to add to its case at the end of this season, but the quiet song of the unsung heroes and their efforts can be heard louder than ever.

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