Shaun Alexander first stepped on campus 30 years ago

Shaun was the star player on the team when I REALLY started following ball. I remember watching the 92 championship and Coach Stallings last game with my grandpa but the 1999 season was the first I got personally invested in following because of that Florida upset that got me glued to the TV set.

299 yds against lsu is still one of the most beautiful games ive ever seen. just wish he couldve gotten one more yard and i couldve been there.

hail to the great alexander

My sons middle name is Alexander after Shaun. When I was little, I thought that guy was the best football player to ever play. Funny how many more greats have come since that time.

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98 BYU opening game at expanded BDS always stands out when Shaun set a record, I think, with 5 TDs.

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My first game as a student. I was working at the CC of Tuscaloosa that Saturday and got caught by a train heading back to my apartment to get ready to go to the game. I was already running late from work and just ditched my car and walked back to the stadium wearing my BYU colored work t-shirt covered in dirt and grass clippings. We crushed them and obviously it made me wear a blue shirt on gameday for the next 27 years.

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Shaun was the star player on the team when I REALLY started following ball.

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Same. 1999 was the first season I really paid attention to Alabama.

IMO, Shaun is still #2 behind Henry. In Saban’s offense Shaun would have likely gained 2000 yards each year. He was supremely gifted. Not fast but never caught from behind. If there was a hole there has been no one else in the history of football who could find it and exploit it better than Shaun. He always made the right decision about anything a runner could do. Though he was not a quick twitch athlete, he was incredible in the open field because of intelligence. On and on….

We could expand on his football prowess but the thing i remember most fondly is that during the Alabama’s dark days under the Mikes, Shaun was one of the few in the media (Freddy Coleman, Mel Kiper, yes Mel Kiper a ND supporter, were notable exceptions to the national ridiculers) or having a celebrity platform who enthusiastically supported Alabama. Others didn’t seem to want to make their Alabama ties known. That’s true to a certain extent to this day. Shaun’s time in the spotlight has passed, so now, thank you, Mark Ingram and Coach Saban and Justin Thomas, et al.

The 2 Florida games in '99 were so fun. The SEC title game maybe the most fun I have had at a football game. Florida fans were gone early.

Shaun Alexander had that glide to his game. He made every play seem almost effortless.

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I thought that guy was the best football player to ever play

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I know you can't compare eras, but at that time we weren't as dominant and didn't have the caliber of players that we had under saban.

Imagine him in Saban's system, supported by 4 and 5 stars everywhere.

He is right up there with Henry IMO and may be a more "rounded" back than any we've ever had.

Totally agree with your opinion! Those on the board who never got to see Shaun Alexander play in person missed a real treat. He was not as big as Henry, but was more elusive and very smooth as a runner.