Since Nick Saban’s arrival to Tuscaloosa in 2007, Alabama has not only become a team that has created a dynasty winning national championships, but it also has become a program that sends players to the NFL every year.
With the 2020 NFL Draft happening in less than a month, it’s the perfect time to start a new series in which we will go over all of the Tide’s 29 first-round draft picks. The first player we went over was Andre Smith, who finished his career at Alabama with 15 awards and honors and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals as the No. 6 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The second player we went over was former Alabama star linebacker Rolando McClain who would not only win many incredible awards while at Alabama, but was drafted by Oakland Raiders as the No. 8 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The 3rd Alabama player drafted in the first round for the Tide was Kareem Jackson who would go on to be drafted by the Houston Texans as the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The 4th player to become drafted under Nick Saban was Marcell Dareus. Number 5 was Julio Jones who has spent his entire career in Atlanta after being the 6th overall pick in the 2011 Draft by the Falcons. The 6th first round draft pick under Nick Saban was James Carpenter who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the 25th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. At number 7 we have former Alabama running back Mark Ingram who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints with the 28th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. The 8th player drafted by the Tide was Trent Richardson who was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Mark Barron was the 9th player drafted for Alabama in the NFL Draft. He was was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 7th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. The 10th player drafted for the Tide was Dre Kirkpatrick who was drafted as the No. 17 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
This time, we will be focusing on another former Alabama football star, Dont’a Hightower.
2️⃣x National Champion
3️⃣x Super Bowl Champion@zeus30hightowerDont’a Hightower is the 11th player of Nick Saban’s 29 First Round draft picks at Alabama.#29andCounting #BamaFactor pic.twitter.com/5VqwyhxLPo
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) April 4, 2020
Not only was Hightower part of two national championships, he was a huge part of Alabama’s defensive success.
In 2008, he recorded 64 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 forced fumble.
In 2009, he struggled with injuries and only recorded 16 total tackles as well as 1 sack and 1 defended pass.
In 2010, he had an incredible year recording 69 total tackles, and 3 defended passes.
As a junior in 2011, Hightower put on a show and proved he was NFL ready. He had 85 total tackles, 1 interception, 3 defended passes, and 1 forced fumble.
Kirkpatrick was drafted as the No. 25 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots where he has spent his entire career at.
Since joining the Patriots in 2012, Hightower has been a 3 time Super Bowl Champion and has also been a 2 time Pro-Bowler.
He has recorded 505 tackles, 25.5 sacks, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, and 17 pass deflections.
