A Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native and son of a former Tide team chaplain, Croom played at Alabama under the iconic Paul 'Bear' Bryant and earned All-America honors on the offensive line in the process. Later, Croom became the first African-American head football coach in SEC history when he took over at Mississippi State.

Croom was a former on-field standout for the Crimson Tide where he was a three-year starter at center from 1972-74, ending his Alabama career as one of the top players at the position in program history. His career highlights included a 1974 First Team All-American, the 1973 national championship, and a 1974 team captain.

The Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide are set for a high-stakes collision course this weekend in Knoxville, and if you want to catch some of the best that college football has to offer in Week 8 inside Neyland Stadium,

This week's marquee matchup has the Alabama Crimson Tide going to Neyland Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. This looked like a potential showdown with two top-five teams, but each squad has struggled in recent games.