19 Days ‘Til Alabama Football: In 2012, no one could stop the Circle Button

Eddie Lacy has long been a unequivocal favorite of Alabama fans. It’s easy to see why. As much as a multimillionaire can be down-to-earth, the fun-loving Lacy is. He seems like one of us -- just a regular guy.

Lacy is notoriously a sweetheart off the field, always willing to talk to fans or drop an autograph while joking around. That humor shows in his nicknames too: Weezyana, the Circle Button, Hammer, Hulk, Gouda Buddha -- they’re endless.

The big man from Gretna notoriously struggles with his weight, and he’s equally quick to detail his daily battle against the munchies. His Twitter feed in an homage to Chinese buffets.

Despite his foibles, laid-back style, and every-man attitude, when he gets on the field, Lacy has called by scouts “a monster,”and “the strongest back I’ve ever seen play.”

Throughout his career at Alabama the 6’2” 242-pounder (though closer to 255,) was brilliant sharing the backfield with Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram and T.J. Yeldon. Possessing an exceptional top-end for a big man and excellent hands, Lacy also had the footwork to dance in the hole, sidestep defenders, and of course, lay out his near-patented spin move... the Circle Button (the PlayStation button for making a player spin in Madden NFL and EA NCAA Football games.)

The spins are exciting to be sure, but what Lacy excels at the most is in flat-running over defenders. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him step out of bounds when he’s at full speed. The Bettis-like Lacy would much rather plow over would-be tacklers and use his vicious stiff arm to get separation.

THough we had Eddie’s services for three very fun years, it would be the latter part of 2012, in Alabama’s biggest games, when Lacy took over and his status as a legend was cemented. The punishment Eddie doled out to Georgia in the SEC Championship game and then again to the Irish in the BCS Championship game have become lore for Tide fans.

Before heading off to the NFL, and an NFL Rookie of the Year award, Lacy ran for 1338 yards, scored 19 touchdowns (17 rushing,) and averaged 6.5 yards per carry that season.

By all accounts, he is now thriving in his new home with the Seahawks: He has trimmed down, met weight, and is back to the dynamic force we saw for several years. When asked what has been the secret to his success, Lacy says with characteristic glibness “eat a lot less.”

Best of luck to our favorite big man as he gets a career reset in Seattle with a coach that wants him to play big...as big as his personality.

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19 days ‘til Alabama football

Roll Tide