No history of Alabama Crimson Tide football, or the Southeastern Conference, for that matter, is complete without the contributions of Sylvester Croom.
A Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native and son of a former Tide team chaplain, Croom played at Alabama under the iconic Paul 'Bear' Bryant and earned All-America honors on the offensive line in the process.
Later, Croom became the first African-American head football coach in SEC history when he took over at Mississippi State.
He's still around the game, and specifically his alma mater.
Last week, Croom addressed first-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer's team before its Saturday, come-from-behind win against visiting South Carolina.
Unsurprisingly, Croom delivered an impassioned message to the Tide.
"I want you guys to know some things about me and about playing here at Alabama," Croom began. "I want to talk to you about expectations. You and I, we're the same. We're all in the same fraternity, the fraternity of that crimson jersey. I don't know a lot of you guys, but I respect you because the minute you signed that scholarship to come to Alabama, that told me something about you. That told me that you weren't ordinary. That told me that you were special people, because when you put that crimson jersey on, you've got to be special.
"Because the expectations of wearing that jersey, it ain't like nowhere else in the country. It ain't like nowhere else in pro football."
Croom then elicited the names of just a few of Alabama's all-time greats and implored the current Tide players to know they represent all those men -- but that also have all those men supporting them.
"When you look in the mirror tomorrow morning and put that jersey on, you know who you represent," he said. "You represent your family, you represent me, you represent every man; you represent Joe Namath, (Johnny) Musso, you represent Ozzie Newsome, Julio Jones.
"Every man who's ever worn that jersey is pulling for you and he is in that locker room with you. And he is on that sideline with you.
"You play your ass off one play at a time. And you strive to be perfect, because that's what wearing that red jersey means."
The one-loss, seventh-ranked Tide (5-1) are at one-loss, No. 11 Tennessee Saturday night in the two rivals's annual Third Saturday in October clash.
See Croom's delivery to the team in full here:
The fraternity of the crimson jersey. 😤@Gatorade | #BPsiPhi pic.twitter.com/VOM1bq5fuE
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 15, 2024