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Part of the 2012 recruiting class, Brandon Greene came to the Tide as a consensus 4-star prospect, and easily one of the top 150 players in high school. At the time, he was a bit on the lean side for an Alabama lineman. So after taking a redshirt his freshman year, he was moved to tight end to help out with the dearth of depth that Alabama has always struggled with at the position.
He made an immediate impact in 2013, appearing in every game that season as a redshirt freshman. He was used solely as a blocker in short yardage situations where a massive tight end— a defacto 6th offensive lineman— was needed. During that time, he really developed his reputation as an exceptional blocking tight end, especially when it came to off-tackle running plays where he could help to seal the edge.
His sophomore season in 2014 was more of the same, until one fateful moment in overtime against LSU:
Alabama had just managed to tie the game and force it into overtime, and LSU was reeling from Reuben Foster’s soul-destroying hit on Leonard Fournette. Lane Kiffin drew up this quick trick play where Greene, a tight end, used his size to disguise himself as an offensive lineman. The first catch of his career went for 24 yards to put Alabama on the one-yard line in overtime.
For a breakdown of the play from Roll Bama Roll in the past, check out this video:
After his moment of fame, Brandon Greene returned to anonymity during his junior and senior years. He regularly swapped between wearing number 89 and 58, depending on if he were needed at tight end or offensive tackle that week. He only recorded one more catch in his career-- a 5 yarder against USC in the 2016 opener-- but was still a regular in short yardage situations to block the edges.
He was only a house hold name once in his career, but he spent 4 years as a regular contributor to the best football program in the nation, being willing to swap positions regularly during his whole career to help team. For that, Brandon Greene, we salute you.
Roll Tide!