Bryan “Bart” Starr was more than just a quarterback in college and the National Football League.
He represented the model family man, husband, and hero of his community.
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Starr was a winner in every since of the word, and the NFL’s Bart Starr Award goes to a player that carries the same traits on and off the field.
Starr played quarterback at the University of Alabama from 1952 to 1955, so it is only fitting that a Crimson Tide football alum earned the Bart Starr Award for this season.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, a former first-round pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, became the first Tide alum to win the honor. A New Jersey native, Fitzpatrick represents greatness on the field, at home, and in the Pittsburgh Steelers community.
He becomes the first Steeler to receive the award in a season where he has 64 tackles and three pass breakups.
Fitzpatrick has been a defensive leader for Pittsburgh since arriving from Miami in 2019 via trade.
Minkah Fitzpatrick is the NFL’s 2024 Bart Starr Award winner, given annually for outstanding character, integrity and leadership on and off the field.
He’s the first Steeler to win the award.
Past winners include Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, Peyton Manning and Calais…
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) January 5, 2024
.@minkfitz_21 is the winner of the 2024 Bart Starr Award for outstanding character, integrity and leadership on and off the football field.
📝: https://t.co/JCeudZqSDr pic.twitter.com/s0CjhRP90A
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 5, 2024
He posted a career-high 124 total tackles in 2021, but Fitzpatrick wants to push the Steelers into the playoffs.
Pittsburgh is 9-7 on the season with an opportunity at an AFC Wild Card spot.
Fitzpatrick came to the Crimson Tide as a five-star prospect in the 2015 signing class.
He guided Alabama’s defense to two College Football Playoff National Championships in 2015 and 2017 while becoming a Unanimous All-American, Jim Thorpe Award winner, Chuck Bednarik Award winner, and first-team All-SEC selection in 2017.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
