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The Alabama Crimson Tide welcomed another special guest this week Arizona Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald. Earlier this week they hosted Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, but have already held another guest at their facilities since.
Fitzgerald, 38, now marks the second guest to visit during the Tide’s fall practice as they prepare for the upcoming 2022 campaign. After playing 17 seasons in the National Football League, all for the Cardinals, Fitzgerald retired and is expected to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer when eligible for entry. Over his career, he racked up 17,492 receiving yards off of 1,432 catches while scoring 121 touchdowns receptions. On the all-time list, Fitzgerald is second in all-time receiving yards and receptions behind only Jerry Rice in both categories.
Ja’Corey Brooks’ Special Moment With Fitzgerald
The sophomore receiver, Ja’Corey Brooks was like a kid on Christmas morning following Fitzgerald’s arrival. The two even took a picture together, later shared on Brooks’ Instagram story with a caption of a single emoji. It was the goat emoji, or greatest of all time, a commonly used acronym in the sports world.
During Brooks’ freshman year he saw little action until late in the season when the receiving corps fell ill with the infamous injury bug. Once John Metchie went out during the SEC Championship game, Brooks’ had to step up for their first playoff matchup against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
It is safe to say that he met the moment by catching four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown swung the momentum completely in Alabama’s favor as they extended their single touchdown lead to two with a minute and a half until halftime.
During the championship game against Georgia, Brooks caught a record high six passes for 47 yards. Once Jameson Williams went down with his injury in the title game, Brooks’ role increased that much more. Unfortunately for the true freshman, his efforts would not be enough.
It is widely expected that Brooks will have his best year yet in 2022 as he’s currently projected to be the number two or three option on any given Saturday. In reality, some extra pointers and inspiration from Fitzgerald may be just what Brooks needed to manifest that special season where the Tide look to get revenge on Georgia and win a championship.
“Bama Cuts” Seems To Be Adding Special Guest This Season
Just like Phelps, Fitzgerald has yet to have any videos released of a speech or any type of interaction regarding Alabama besides social media posts around the facilities. When analyzing the photos posted to Alabama’s Twitter account, you may notice that Fitzgerald, like Phelps, is in the famous barbershop inside the Tide facility known for their YouTube show called “Bama Cuts”.
It is now likely that we will see Fitzgerald appear in a future episode of the show where we will be able to hear about his entire experience in Tuscaloosa. Head Coach Nick Saban said when Phelps visited campus that this season’s theme for guest speakers would be “choices”.
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