Alabama Seniors Leave Their Mark on Bryant-Denny Stadium

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On a day meant to acknowledge the accomplishments of Alabama's senior class, there was plenty to celebrate for the Crimson Tide Saturday.

Alabama's seniors put an exclamation point on their careers inside Bryant-Denny Stadium with a 66-10 victory over Chattanooga.

The first three touchdowns of the game were from Crimson Tide seniors. Jermaine Burton scored the first touchdown and already had a 100-yard receiving game by the halfway point of the first quarter.

"It kind of hit me throughout all the spots with the game coming up, I was kind of thinking about it, but I wasn't worrying about it too much," Burton said after the emotions of Senior Day. "But then today when I woke up, I was kind of like, 'Ah, it is your last one.' So I wanted to go out on a good dub with the guys, and we really did. We handled business, and that was the most exciting part about Senior Day."

The senior running back duo of Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams also punched in touchdowns in the opening 15 minutes to quickly put the Tide up 21-0.

"It was just nice to finally get in the end zone on a special day like this," McClellan said. "There were a lot of emotions at the beginning. When I walked up to my mom, she was crying, and I was trying to hold my tears back."

Will Reichard, who decided to come back for a fifth season after considering the NFL draft, wrapped up his legendary career in Bryant-Denny with a 50-yard kick.

Right down the Middle! 👏👏@WillReichard with the MOST 50 Yard Field Goals (8) in Alabama History.

📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/IMuae6rJpR
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) November 18, 2023

"It was fun to get a little field goal attempt on the last game," Reichard said. "I was kind of worried I would have only extra points."

With his field goal and nine extra points, the Alabama kicker is now nine points away from tying and 10 points away from surpassing the NCAA's all-time scoring record.

"I’m glad I came back for another season," Reichard said. "I’ve been able to build even more bonds with my teammates that’ll last a lifetime. Still kind of soaking it in that it is my last game here at Bryant-Denny. We’ve still got a couple more games to play, so we’re not going to go down that road yet.”

With the transfer portal, redshirts and the COVID waiver, it can be a little confusing to determine who is actually considered a senior. Some have been in the program for five (or six) years. But when looking at it from the traditional sense over the last four year, this senior class has put up special numbers.

Things have been more than friendly at home. These seniors only lost once inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, finishing with a 25-1 record.

Over the last four years, the Crimson Tide has won the SEC West three, times, the SEC title twice and the 2020 CFP national championship along with a Sugar Bowl victory.

Overall, 22 seniors were honored pregame (Burton, McClellan, Williams, Reichard, Jonathan Bennett, Chris Braswell, Zarian Courtney, Justin Eboigbe, Robert Ellis, Kyle Flood Jr., Jaylen Key, Trezmen Marshall, Caleb McDougle, Seth McLaughlin, Malachi Moore, Quandarrius Robinson, Charlie Skehan, Jordan Smith, Tim Smith, Adam Thorsland, Bennett Whisenhunt, and Sam Willoughby) comprised of walk-ons, graduates, transfers and tradition four-year players.

After the game, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said the seniors have done a great job representing the program.

"I am very proud of the way they've developed personally, academically, the success that they've had in school and developing a career off the field and what they contributed to the team," Saban said. "Some of these guys have been fantastic leaders, set a great example. The one thing that's been really, really good over the years for us, and these guys did a fantastic job with it as well is the older guys embracing the younger guys that come in the program. At some places, that doesn’t happen, but it always happens here. It's very helpful to the development of our young players."

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe said the leadership of the upperclassmen and having a player-led team has been what's helped the Tide grow as a team.

But the job isn't finished yet. These seniors and the 2023 team still have huge opportunities ahead to add to their legacy with the Iron Bowl next week, the SEC Championship game against Georgia the week after that with a potential spot in the College Football Playoff on the line.

The Bryant-Denny chapter is closed, but the story for this senior class isn't quite over.