Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Greg McElroy

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He came in known as the player who filled the gap when star recruit Tim Tebow picked Florida over Alabama, but left holding numerous Crimson Tide records—including single-season passing yards with 2,987 in 2009. 

That year he also helped lead Alabama to Nick Saban's only perfect season, the national championship, and was named MVP of the SEC Championship Game when the Crimson Tide knocked off No. 1 Florida and Tebow.

McElroy was a finalist for both a Rhodes Scholarship and Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, and he nearly dethroned Jay Barker as Alabama’s winningest quarterback.

“I want people to remember me as just a teammate,” he said. “I want them to remember me as caring for the team, caring about winning, putting all individual accomplishment aside and just worrying about success of the football team. If people remember me as a winner, and people remember me as doing everything I possibly can to help the program succeed and the university succeed, then I’ll have done my job here.

“Quite frankly, Alabama owes me nothing. I owe everything to Alabama, and the opportunity to play here definitely shaped my life in a way I never could have imagined.”

Alabama Academic All-Americans 

1961: Tommy Brooker, end; Pat Trammell, quarterback

1964: Gaylon McCollough, center

1965: Denis Homan, end; Steve Sloan, quarterback

1967: Bob Childs, linebacker; Steve Davis, kicker

1970: Johnny Musso, tailback

1971: Johnny Musso, tailback

1973: Randy Hall, defensive tackle

1974: Randy Hall, defensive tackle

1975: Danny Ridgeway, kicker

1979: Major Ogilvie, halfback

2002: Kenny King, defensive tackle

2009: Barrett Jones, guard; Colin Peek, tight end

2010: Barrett Jones, guard; Greg McElroy, quarterback

2011: Barrett Jones, tackle

2012: Barrett Jones, center

2014: Arie Kouandjio, guard

Some of this post originated from "100 Things Crimson tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," published by Triumph Books


Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.