Julio Jones and Amari Cooper didn’t cross paths at Alabama, but that doesn’t stop them from having a strong bond as Crimson Tide alumni in the NFL.
ESPN’s Vaughn McClure recently looked at the “fraternity” Jones, Cooper and other former UA players are part of in the NFL.
Jones, for example, has a Carson Tinker jersey thanks to a post-game jersey swap. Long-snappers aren’t often targeted as part of the NFL tradition, but it speaks to the bond Jones and Tinker share as Alabama alumni.
“It’s just a brotherhood we build there when we’re going to the University of Alabama,” Jones told ESPN. “Even if you don’t talk to that guy for a little bit because you understand he’s working or doing whatever, when you see each other you always talk. You talk to each other and just see how each other are doing, where you’re at in life.”
McClure notes that Cooper has received advice from Jones, whose praise of the Oakland Raiders receiver will probably end up in Crimson Tide recruiting material.
“Amari, he’s a fast, twitchy guy, a quick guy,” Jones said. “He’s a great player. He’s going to go out there (and) he’s going to compete for four quarters. Typical training you get from Alabama, just leaving everything out there on the line, just giving 100 percent.”
Blake Sims, a member of the Falcons practice squad, said having his Alabama brothers, Jones and Courtney Upshaw, as teammates helped him feel at home.
“You’ve got a lot of fraternities, but at the University of Alabama, a lot of us don’t cross with anybody else,” Sims said. “People wonder why, and it’s because we’ve got our own. We don’t cross with another fraternity because we’ve got our own brotherhood. You understand? We’re Bama Psi Phi. That’s who we are.”
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
