Alabama football is in the College Football Playoff for the seventh time under Nick Saban.
It faces Cincinnati in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide are ready, but the team received messages from two alums. Amari Cooper and Trevon Diggs were superstar athletes for Alabama.
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Cooper won the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2014 after totaling 124 catches for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was a two-time 1,000-yard wide receiver and a BCS National Champion in 2012.
Cooper has five 1,000-yard seasons in the National Football League, including two with the Dallas Cowboys. He is closing in on his third straight 1,000-yard campaign in Dallas.
GAME DAY is finally here! @alabamaftbl alum @amaricooper9 from @dallascowboys is ready for the #GoodyearCottonBowl Classic. Who are you rooting for?@cfbplayoff @bowlseason#LikeNoOther | #RollTide pic.twitter.com/YsR7NWwdWT
— Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (@CottonBowlGame) December 31, 2021
Diggs finished his career at Alabama with four interceptions. He won two Southeastern Conference titles (2016, 2018) and a College Football Playoff National Championship in 2017. Diggs leads the NFL for interceptions (11) and is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. He is three picks away from tying Nite Train Lane’s record of 14 from the 1952 season.
It’s GAME DAY! @dallascowboys @trevondiggs will be rooting for his alma mater @alabamaftbl in the #GoodyearCottonBowl Classic. Who are you rooting for?@cfbplayoff @bowlseason#LikeNoOther | #RollTide pic.twitter.com/uZibgQeJrJ
— Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (@CottonBowlGame) December 31, 2021
Lane holds the league record for interceptions in a season.
Alabama is going after a national championship, and two of its former players want to see it succeed.
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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.
