Busting the Ozzie and The University of Alabama Connection Myth

Yale Beverly

Over the years, a lot has been written about Ozzie Newsome and his “affinity” for players from his alma mater, University of Alabama.  It seems, and many people will point to his drafting history, that Ozzie will always draft players from “The Tide” just he played there for Bear Bryant and graduated from the school.  While I am sure SOME of that is true, the real reason the Ravens seem to end up with very good players from the school Ozzie played for has a more recent historical bent.

Before we discuss the facts of this case, let’s go over a few particulars to explain why the conventional thinking is so far off base.  First off let’s detail his college career.  Ozzie was a great player for The Crimson Tide.  He was a four-year starter at Alabama.  Legendary coach, Paul Bear Bryant called Ozzie "the greatest end in Alabama history.  A total team player, fine blocker, outstanding leader, great receiver with concentration, speed, hands."  While playing for Alabama, Ozzie helped the Crimson Tide “roll” to a 42-6 record and three 11-1 seasons.  He caught 102 passes for 2,070 yards.  Alabama won three SEC championships with Ozzie playing Tight End and finished No. 2 in the country in 1977.  That history alone seems to be the reason people want to pin the “homer” label on the Ravens GM.  But we have to look deeper down the rabbit hole at those facts to see why this makes no sense.

This is the year 2014, and Ozzie has been away from the Alabama program for 37 years.  Bear Bryant has been gone from that program since 1982 and passed away in 1983.  There have been a plethora of coaches to try and carry on the Bear Bryant tradition since that time and while some have a connection to Bear Bryant and Ozzie from his playing days there, none really since Ozzie took the helm of the Ravens.  And since 1996, when Ozzie and the Ravens came to Baltimore, the draft history of the Ravens showed no real particular connection to Alabama.  That is, not until 2007.  In 2007 Ozzie used a 2^nd 4^th round pick to select 6 foot, 260 lb Running Back/ Full Back Le’Ron McClain from Alabama.  2007 was also the year that the Alabama football program was taken over by one Nick Saban; the same Nick Saban who was the Defensive Coordinator for the Cleveland Browns from 1991 -1994, under Bill Belichick.  Ozzie was drafted by the Browns in 1978 and played for them until 1990 when he retired.  Upon his retirement Ozzie asked team owner Art Modell for a job in the Browns front office.  In those days, Ozzie worked in the scouting and player development departments, learning his way up under Belichick and working side by side with guess who?  Nick Saban.  Say what you want about Bill Belichick, but he is a hands on kind of guy.  He likes to put the right people in place to do their jobs, learn from each other, and put all of that knowledge to use for the betterment of the team.  From talent evaluation to successful football operations, the Belichick “stamp” is all over the New England Patriots and it was formulated and fostered under those Cleveland Browns teams from 91-95.  Ozzie worked hand in hand with Nick Saban to help look for and identify players that Nick wanted for his Browns defenders and fit into the mold for that team. 

Since taking over the Alabama program, Saban has built a machine that is now the Crimson Tide, and won 3 National Championships mostly around a professional style Defense.  His players have to be tough, they have to be strong, but mostly they have to be smart players in order to play for him.  Ozzie is known for saying that he is looking for tough, strong, and intelligent players for the Ravens.  He wants kids who will “play like a Raven” and fit into what they are trying to do.  Ozzie will have his scouts scour the country for these types of players, and for the vast majority of tenure helming the team, Ozzie has been wildly successful working that plan.  So successful in fact that he has been in his role as GM of an NFL team through a franchise relocation, an ownership change, and 3 head coaching changes.  There are few if any GMs in the league or ANY league that can make that claim.  That kind of success is not because Ozzie has shown blind loyalty to his alma mater, it is because at its core, the NFL is a league of relationships built and relied on.  Ozzie has one such relationship with Nick Saban.  The Ravens grab players from any and every college like small Nicholls State to the bigger and more renown schools like Notre Dame and Alabama.  But with the exception of that 4^th round pick in 2007 for McClain, the Ravens have only drafted Defensive players from The Crimson Tide.  As I stated, these Nick Saban led teams are known for their Defense.  When Ozzie is looking for a player he knows will be tough, strong, and smart to plug into the Defensive tradition that the Ravens are known for; he has a pipeline he can tap into for advice, and insight.  Has every selection been spot on?  No.  But from the looks of his record and tenure with the Ravens, Ozzie will continue to find the right player for this team, and if a player from the Alabama Crimson Tide is what is needed and is available when the Ravens are on the clock, you can bet Ozzie and Nick have talked about the kid extensively and the confidence factor is high for the name on the card sent up to the commissioner to be the next Raven from that program.

It should also be noted that the Ravens continued interest and support of former Alabama player, Rolando McClain is probably also related to this connection.  Terrance Cody, another former Tide player whose career with the Ravens has been less than spectacular, was resigned to a one year “show us” contract this off season because of what he does bring to the table, SIZE, to help with the Ravens run defense.  If body language and demeanor means anything, Cody’s contract signing presser showed that he had a long conversation with Ozzie and probably Nick Saban as well.  If you want to keep playing in the NFL young man, step it up now, and you can write your own ticket to either stay a Raven, or move on somewhere else.  But it is clear, if Ozzie was not the GM, and had a relationship with his college coach, Cody would not have even been offered this deal.

Ravens who have been drafted out of Alabama:

• ž   Ralph Staten DB 7^th Rd 1997 
• ž   Terry Jones TE 5^th Rd 2002
• ž   Jarret Johnson DE 4^th Rd 2003
• ž   Le’Ron McClain RB 4^th Rd 2007
• ž   Terrance Cody DT 2^nd Rd 2010
• ž   Courtney Upshaw LB 2^nd Rd 2012