re: Who is the most savage player to ever put the uniform on for Bama?

Several posts mention Lane Bearden. This is the correct answer. He kicked most of a season with a torn acl and went looking to light returners up. Absolutely savage.

Some of y’all around birmingham may remember the X-fest music festival (late 90s through early aughts, at oak mountain amphitheater, organized by the radio station 107.7 the X). Good times. Xfest IV was my personal favorite.


Anyhow, late Saturday night some big ole baw was wreaking havoc on the hillside lawn, just waylaying guys left and right. Security, too.

Somebody shot out of the crowd and speared that dude full speed. Folded him like a lawn chair. Had that dude in a rear naked choke hold before he knew what had hit him.


I was told the enforcer was Lane Bearden.

ETA: it was dark, I was well libated, and there was a melee going down, so I didn’t get a good look at him

Paul Bryant

I’ve been told Joe King.

Marvin Constant pre-injury

I’m a 90s guy so I’m going based on my memory. For me there are two; Ro and Rueben foster. Rueben, for my money, was the best football player I’ve ever seen play live. One of my best friends was roommates with Ro at cowboys camp for a while. He said he is a wild man, but if he likes you at all, then he will literally die on a hill for you. He was also roommates with Dj fuller with the chargers as well. If I had a few honorable mentions, I’d throw Jonathan Allen out there, and maybe Dre Kirk. He seemed like a dude that would literally kill someone lol.

Old School; John Hanna. You don't become possibly the best offensive lineman in history without a real mean-streak and land in the NFL top 25 players of all time. Joe Klecko called him the meanest player he ever saw play the game.

Modern; is has to be Ro. Just a full on enforcer. And just unhinged enough that you never knew exactly how far he was going to take things.

Yes, Paul Bryant was possibly the toughest and meanest player ever for Alabama.

He played vs Tennessee with a broken leg.

In 1979/1980 as he was finishing his career and life, Bama played GT, coached by Bill Curry, at Legion Field. Curry said that Bryant met him in an entrance onto the field and grabbed him by his pants belt and jerked him up off of the ground and just stared at him in an act of intimidation. Curry said it worked.

This was consistent with Coach Bryant's reputation, though he was usually respectful to coaches and players. Friends with many coaches. It was a different world then :-). He sometimes came down from his tower at practice to physically manhandle a player. He did this into his 60s. He had hands like skillets.

Mike Ford was also reportedly a savage - he definitely played like one on some of Alabama's mediocre late 60s teams. 187 lb DE, who always seemed to make the big play.

Rolando McClain like others have noted. Tough, mean and serious about football.
Rueben Foster hit like no one else, along with Woodrow Lowe.

Someone mentioned Pat Trammel, who was Coach Bryant's favorite; he would become a medical doctor. Bill Oliver said that all of the QBs, of which he was one, 7 or 8 of them, were in a room, there was some discussion about who would become the starter. Trammel took out a big hunting knife and stabbed it into the table claiming that there would be no further discussion, he was the QB. And though he was not a good athlete or passer, he would be the starter and lead Bama to its first NC under Coach Bryant. You can see why Coach Bryant loved him. They were two peas in a pod - tough, mean and really smart.

I was coming here to put Curry and Copeland also.

Shoutout to Barry Krauss also.

Eryk Anders has proved himself to be a bona fide savage off the field. His UFC career is pretty astounding given his late start to MMA.