For what he has done off the field is truly amazing. Saban had a spot on the team for this fine young lad, and for what he has done off the field is truly remarkable. He will succeed in anything he pursues in his professional career.

MAC HEREFORD!

This is from a social media post. Yes it’s a long read but very worth the read.

He's the 2019 Alabama Football All-American you never knew. He's an All-American, who, with the completion of the Citrus Bowl, has seen the end of his four year stay with the Crimson Tide. He's an All-American who has seen only a few snaps in a mere two games over his college career. A wide receiver for the Crimson Tide since 2016, he's an All-American who has never caught a pass in a college game. Yet he owns two Southeastern Conference championship rings, a national championship ring, and has been a great friend and teammate of fellow receivers Jerry Jeudy, Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle.

Growing up in Mountain Brook, he dreamed of playing for the Crimson Tide- in fact over a decade ago while attending a Nick Saban football camp, his heart went numb when the coach himself extended his hand during a photo op. As he grew, his dreams of playing for the Crimson Tide continued- and when Coach Saban called in early 2016 to offer him a spot on the team as a preferred walk-on, chill bumps surrounded him.

The last four years he has bought into the process, never missing a team or position meeting, giving his all at each and every practice, and encouraging his teammates to be the best they can be. He has become a locker room favorite and a role model to players such as Mac Jones and Najee Harris. And while never receiving a scholarship, he has never wavered.

The most amazing thing? This young man's greatest and most enviable work has been done off the field. What he has accomplished over the last few years is a lifetime of community service. Why put in over 100 hours at the Alberta Head Start Program reading to underprivileged kids? Why spend hours cheering up the elderly at retirement homes? Why volunteer for the Salvation Army? Why be a part of "Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger"? Why help clean up the Black Warrior River? Why volunteer at the RISE Center helping kids with Down syndrome? And why write people he doesn't know who are fighting cancer to offer them hope? Because, he tells me, "It makes me feel like a superstar."

Oh, Coach Saban, along with university officials, have taken notice. The former walk-on has received the "Heart Of Service Award" at the annual UA athletics banquet. He's also been awarded the "Derrick Thomas Community Service Award" from the university. And to think the kid never caught a pass.

This story, in fact, mirrors many University of Alabama Athletics and athletes throughout America: Men and women who work, sweat and sacrifice, all for a seat on the bench. Their bodies ache in search of a chance. Their spirits sag while their hopes remain. Yet they mean more to their teams than you can ever imagine, and the people who know it best are their teammates on the field, a field they may never see.

Four years came and went in a flash, but the walk-on receiver may not be done with football just yet- he's looking into colleges where he may spend one year as a graduate student and possibly hook onto a new team. Perhaps there is a reception in him after all.
When I think of the great Alabama receivers of 2019, I think of Jerry Jeudy, Devonta Smith, Henry Ruggs, Jaylen Waddle and Mac Hereford. Yep, Mac Hereford, the Crimson Tide wide receiver you never knew. The wide receiver who meant more to his coaches and teammates than they, and we, can ever imagine.

Just last month, Mac Hereford stood quietly as he was about to receive his diploma from The University of Alabama when Coach Saban approached him. Like the coach did over ten years before, he extended his hand to Mac. And just like Mac did ten years before, he firmly shook the coach's hand while feeling his heart go numb.

Mac Hereford has not been named an All-American by any official college football publication. But the young man whose claim to fame is catching three Mac Jones passes in the 2018 A-Day game is, in fact, my All-American, your All-American, everybody's All-American for what he has accomplished on and off the field.

What does Mac have in store once his football career officially comes to an end? After a slight pause he told me, "I'm not quite sure, but I want to make a difference."
You already have made a difference, Mac. You already have.