With basically 100 years of excellent football in the past, picking Alabama’s greatest five defensive players in school history takes a bit of work.
And, like most lists that stretch decades, comparing players from a previous generation to players more modern is nigh impossible. We tried our best not to have too short a memory, but for better or worse, two of the five you’ll find here come from the 2010s.
But maybe that’s fair. After all, the Crimson Tide have been the most dominant college football program in the country for the better part of the last couple decades.
Still, we took the time machine back a little ways, at least, and came up with our list of the greatest to ever do it in Tuscaloosa.
Honorable Mentions
- LB Woodrow Lowe (1972-1975)
- DE Leroy Cook (1972-1975)
- LB Cornelius Bennett (1983-1986)
- LB Rolando McClain (2007-2009)
- DT Terrence Cody (2008-2009)
- DE/LB Will Anderson Jr. (2020-2022)
5. CB Antonio Langham (1990-1993)
If you want to boot Langham from the list because of a then-indiscretion, we understand. His signing with an agent during the 1993 offseason eventually led to Alabama forfeiting its national championship.
On the field, though, Langham shattered opposing quarterbacks’ confidence. He made All-SEC teams in each of his three seasons, including first-team honors in 1992 and 1993. He won the Jim Thorpe Award that year and remains Alabama’s all-time leader in career interceptions with 19.
4. DL Jonathan Allen (2013-2016)
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
No defensive lineman in Alabama history has recorded more sacks than Allen, who registered 28 over the course of just three seasons in Tuscaloosa.
He broke out as a sophomore in 2014, earning first-team All-SEC honors. The next year, he went to another level, recording 12 sacks as Alabama won the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship.
As a senior, Allen captured the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Chuck Bednarik Award, and Lombardi Award after logging 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss, as he would later be taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
3. LB Lee Roy Jordan (1960-1962)
Jordan played in an era in which freshmen didn’t join the varsity team. So, by the time he debuted as a sophomore and ended the year with Most Valuable Player honors in the Bluebonnet Bowl that year, it was clear great things lay ahead.
He led the Alabama defense to a national championship in 1961 and was named unanimous All-American in 1962.
Legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant said of Jordan, “He was one of the finest football players the world has ever seen. If runners stayed between the sidelines, he tackled them. He never had a bad day, he was 100 percent every day in practice and in the games.”
2. DB Minkah Fitzpatrick (2015-2017)
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
A two-time All-American who was unanimously named in 2017, a year in which he also collected the Chuck Bednarik Award as FBS’ defensive player of the year and the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back, Fitzpatrick was a beast.
He started 10 games as a freshman and never let go, earning Freshman All-American honors as the Crimson Tide won the national title in 2015. They followed with another in 2017 and, in between, Fitzpatrick earned yet another consensus All-American honor. He left for the NFL after his junior season.
1. LB Derrick Thomas (1986-1988)
We could have put Thomas and his fellow Alabama linebackers of the era – Cornelius Bennett and Keith McCants – all on this list. You may. But Thomas was a fairly easy selection as the best defender in Alabama history.
Thomas’ 52 collegiate sacks would be an NCAA record except sacks weren’t kept as an official statistic until after he was gone. He registered an absurd 27 in 1988 en route to unanimous All-American honors and the Butkus Award.
Thomas was good, and he wasn’t just the best football player that season, but he was named SEC Male Athlete of the Year in 1989.
More Alabama Football Rankings
- 10 Greatest Alabama Football Players of All-Time
- 5 Greatest Quarterbacks in Alabama History
- 5 Greatest Running Backs in Alabama History
Related: The Greatest HBCU Players in Pro Football History
Related: 10 Highest Paid College Football Coaches: Who Tops the List?