Former Tide Linebacker Faces His Old Team on Saturday

Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders is off to an All-American start this season. He has 5.5 sacks, one more than Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr., and is tied for most in the country. The Alabama transfer is making the most of his new opportunity for the Razorbacks and is in the conversation to be a first-round draft pick.

Get our free mobile app

However, Sanders is not the first former Crimson Tide player to see success after transferring.

The two former players that come to mind when thinking about transfers are running back Alvin Kamara and quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Kamara spent one season at Alabama and had struggles from the get-go, including knee surgery and not get the playing time he seeked. He transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, then returned to the SEC via the Tennessee Volunteers and had a successful career. He is now starting for the New Orleans Saints.

Jalen Hurts was a two-year starter for the Crimson Tide and lost his starting job to Tua Tagovailoa, who became the hero of the 2018 SEC Championship Game vs Georgia. He left as a graduate transfer and went to Oklahoma where he would become a Heisman Trophy Finalist and is now the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

So, as we watch Drew Sanders in that Arkansas cardinal red, it is perfectly fine to want him to succeed as long as the Tide comes out on top on Saturday afternoon.