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Greg McElroy explains why he wore No. 12 jersey at Alabama
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Greg McElroy wore the No. 12 jersey while he was at Alabama, guiding the Crimson Tide to a national championship during his career.
Like many jersey numbers for athletes, the number was special to McElroy and to his father.
During his “Always College Football” show this week, McElroy explained that his number was a tribute to Joe Namath, his father’s favorite athlete. And, he added, he got it by giving his coach, Nick Saban, some praise:
.@GregMcElroy shares why he wore # 12 while playing for @AlabamaFTBL
Why did you choose your number? #AlwaysCFB pic.twitter.com/yywPKRUoNY
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) August 25, 2022
“To me, 12 has always been the number that I’ve wanted,” McElroy says. “Partly because my dad’s favorite player was Joe Namath. I wanted to wear it in high school and it was unavailable. They gave me No. 17. Why? Because it was the last remaining quarterback number when I was joining the varsity. When I got to Alabama, I wore No. 17 the first couple of years, but when I first signed with Alabama, Dad said, ‘Hey, if you could wear No. 12, it would mean a lot to me.’ … I said, ‘Dad, if I can, I’d love to wear it for you.’
“Sure enough, after a couple of years and finally getting in good favor with Nick Saban, I worked up enough courage to make the ask. I said, ‘Coach, would you mind if I switched this year from 17 to 12?’ and he looked at me and said, ‘You know, I wore 12.’ And I said, ‘Well, obviously that’s why I want to wear it, Coach.’ He kinda smirked and said, ‘OK, I’ll see what I can do.’ Sure enough, I show up for fall camp later that fall and I’m wearing No. 12.”
After McElroy led the Crimson Tide to the 2010 national title, there were probably plenty of Alabama high school quarterbacks wearing No. 12 to be like McElroy.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
