Senior Day Adds Another Crimson Chapter for Walk-On Jackson Roby

Alabama legacy among 17 seniors to be recognized before this week’s Iron Bowl

The first two songs Claire Roby learned as a child were "Jesus Loves Me" and "Yea, Alabama," and not in that order.

Claire grew up the daughter of Crimson Tide football legend Billy Neighbors, but married an Auburn graduate, Bubba Roby. Because she didn't want Auburn stuff hanging in her house, to keep it fair, she didn't decorate with Alabama things either. But when her oldest son Jackson gravitated towards an Alabama football helmet as a little boy, she didn't complain.

More than a decade later, Jackson is preparing for his final game in Bryant-Denny Stadium as an Alabama football player with the Iron Bowl against Auburn this Saturday. He's continued a legacy of champions while forming his own path with the Crimson Tide over the last five years as a walk-on offensive lineman. 

"To walk on takes a very rare breed," Claire said. "He loves Alabama. He’s loved it his whole life. That's all he's ever wanted to do."

Family of Champions

Jackson Roby high fives his grandfather, Billy Neighbors, on the day of Neighbors' induction into the College Football Hall of Fame / courtesy of the Roby family

Few families encapsulate "Built by Bama" better than the Neighbors. Billy, the patriarch, was a captain of the 1961 Alabama team and helped lead the Crimson Tide to Bear Bryant's first national championship at Alabama.

"My dad was in the room when Coach Bryant said, ‘If you’ll do what we say, in four years, we’ll be national champions,'" Claire said. "And my dad was the captain of that team.”

Billy played both ways for the Crimson Tide and was a unanimous all-American that season. He went on to play eight seasons in the NFL and was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. 

Claire's two brothers Wes and Keith Neighbors both played for Alabama. Wes was an all-SEC center in 1986 while Mike Shula was the quarterback, and Keith was part of the 1992 national championship team under Gene Stallings. 

Wes' two sons, Wesley and Connor, both played college football, too. Wesley was a safety at Alabama from 2008-2011, winning two national championships, and then was part of the Alabama coaching staff as a graduate assistant or defensive analyst from 2011-2017, winning three more national championships. He now serves as safeties coach at Maryland under former Alabama assistant Mike Locksley.

Connor slightly strayed from family tradition and played at LSU from 2010-2014. However, he also spent time at Alabama as a strength and conditioning coach with football and baseball and was part of the LSU staff in 2019 when the Tigers won a national championship. He is now the director of strength and conditioning for football at Louisiana. 

Jackson walked on at Alabama in 2018 and has spent the last five seasons with the Crimson Tide. He was part of the 2020 national championship team and has been joined by his cousin Hayden Neighbors on the 2022 team. 

Between playing and coaching, members of the Neighbors family have been part of eight national championship teams for the Crimson Tide (1961, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020), the 2019 title for LSU and many more SEC championships.

Billy died in 2012, but his wife Susan is still alive and attends many Alabama football games to support her grandchildren. Claire said her dad would be pleased by all his family has accomplished and the way his legacy still lives on.

"He did not like the pressure his name put on his grandchildren, but he’d be damn proud of them," Claire said. "There’s no doubt about that.”

Dream Come True

@Mtroby73 setting the UA sideline & stands on fire! pic.twitter.com/I1FyLWrdZt

— Bubba Roby (@BubbaRoby) September 23, 2022

Jackson graduated with a degree in marketing in May. A lot of his friends at Alabama have graduated or entered the transfer portal, but he still had something he wanted to accomplish at Alabama and decided to come back for a fifth year.

"Jackson came back this last year because his dream was to get on the field," Claire said. "That was his goal. That was his dream the whole time was that he wanted to get on the field."

Earlier this season, that dream finally became a reality. 

With a little over two minutes left in Alabama's 63-7 win over Louisiana-Monroe, a cheer erupted from the Crimson Tide sideline as one player jogged onto the field to join the offensive line at the right guard spot.

Jackson's frame doesn't quite match the typical Alabama lineman, and his appearance came at an insignificant part of the game. However, for three snaps he was the biggest player inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"When he had that moment and to watch his teammates respond," Claire said. "We were just very proud of him and excited."

The Roby family had a birds-eye view from a friend's suite in the end zone, and their phones immediately started blowing up with support and excitement from friends and family. That excitement was just as evident in his teammates, which made the moment even more special for his sister Willa.

"It all just kind of happened at once," Willa said. "It was a rush of a moment. But I do remember the most fun part was watching his teammates get really excited."

Following the game, Jackson's phone was flooded by messages from former teammates, including current New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. Of course, the reception shouldn't come as a surprise to those who understand his role he's played in the Crimson Tide's locker room the last few years.

"He’s a glue guy," Bubba said. "His teammates see him there every day and the contributions he makes. And they all get and understand that things kind of changed with the transfer portal and NIL and everything and the redshirt rule, it’s really hard for guys like him to even see the field now. It’s much harder than it was five, six years ago. They see that he’s there in practice every day, and it means a lot for them to see him get rewarded."

Special Senior Day Recognition 

Roby will be one of 17 players recognized for Senior Day before the Iron Bowl this Saturday. Earlier this week, Nick Saban spoke about the importance of the ceremony, stating it is an opportunity to recognize the sacrifices and investments players have made in the program.

courtesy of the Roby family

"Some of them get a lot of positive accolades because they play, and they get a lot of positive self-gratification for the positive performance, but there's a lot of them who are kind of unsung heroes in terms of, they work hard every week and they play their games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to help the other guys get prepared for the game and don't get a whole lot of recognition," Saban said. "So it is a great opportunity for those guys to get some positive self-gratification for all their efforts."

Alabama starting defensive lineman DJ Dale will be one of the more recognizable seniors at the ceremony. However, he's quick to acknowledge the importance walk-ons such as Roby have on the program. 

"Ultimately they are the ones who get us ready to play, and without them, we won’t play well," Dale said. "They give us great looks. And they don’t get any recognition. Around here, we do appreciate them. We have guys who have been doing that for years. So we really appreciate them, and we love them. They’re brothers just like anyone else.”

About 20 minutes before kickoff between the Crimson Tide and Tigers, the seniors will line up with their family members and pose for pictures with Saban. The fact that the ceremony will take place before the Iron Bowl will make the moment a little sweeter for Jackson, who grew up in the state and graduated from Hunstville High School.

There will still be at least one more game in a Crimson Tide uniform with whatever bowl game Alabama ends up in, but it will be a special moment to encapsulate a career for the Crimson Tide that has included three SEC championships, a national title, the 2019 Bryant Non-Scholarship Player Award and an appearance on the 2019 SEC Academic Honor roll. 

"Jackson Roby wouldn’t change one thing," Claire said. "I know that. He’ll tell you that. He wouldn’t change one thing, just the relationships he’s made… He’s not about me. He’s about the team, and that's just who he is. And he loves it. He loves Alabama.”

Courtesy of the Roby family

See also:

Alabama Players Share What the Iron Bowl Means to Them

Biggest Rivalry Really Not Up for Debate, Alabama-Auburn

How to Watch the Iron Bowl: No. 8 Alabama vs Auburn

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