in 2023, Alabama alums lead the NFL in touchdowns.
During the 2023 NFL regular season, a total of 18 alumni from the University of Alabama collaborated to achieve an impressive milestone of 106 touchdowns. This marked the highest touchdown count for any group from the same college program, significantly surpassing other teams. In contrast, 13 individuals who played for Oklahoma combined to score 65 NFL touchdowns during the same season, securing the second-highest position.
Looking back to the 2010 NFL regular season, only one player from Alabama, running back Kenneth Darby, managed to score three touchdowns for the St. Louis Rams. Since then, Alabama’s NFL touchdown production has seen a steady increase. In 2018, 12 alumni scored a total of 71 touchdowns, breaking the school record set the previous season when 11 former Crimson Tide players scored 45 touchdowns.
The trend continued with 20 Alabama alumni scoring 85 touchdowns in 2019, 83 touchdowns in 2020, 96 touchdowns in 2021, and 100 touchdowns in 2022. Notably, due to Darby’s touchdowns in 2010, former Alabama players have maintained a streak of scoring touchdowns in 48 consecutive seasons, dating back to 1975 when they came up empty.
In the 2023 season, three former Alabama players stood out by scoring at least 10 touchdowns each: Jalen Hurts (15 touchdowns), Derrick Henry (12 touchdowns), and Jahmyr Gibbs (11 touchdowns). Other notable contributors included Jerome Ford, Brian Robinson, Najee Harris, Calvin Ridley, DeVonta Smith, Josh Jacobs, Amari Cooper, Jaylen Waddle, Julio Jones, Jameson Williams, Jerry Jeudy, Brian Branch, Damien Harris, Ronnie Harrison, and Irv Smith Jr.
Additionally, alumni from five other Alabama colleges also made their mark in the 2023 season. Four former Auburn players accounted for eight touchdowns, with notable performances from Darius Slayton, Tank Bigsby, Noah Igbinoghene, and C.J. Uzomah. Tyreek Hill, a West Alabama alumnus, scored 13 touchdowns as a Miami Dolphins wide receiver, while Tank Dell, who began his college career at Alabama A&M, scored seven touchdowns as a rookie for the Houston Texans. Gerald Everett, a Los Angeles Chargers tight end who started at UAB and finished at South Alabama, contributed three touchdowns in 2023. Lastly, Jalen Tolbert and Darious Williams, former South Alabama wide receiver and UAB cornerback, respectively, added to the touchdown count with two and one touchdown, respectively.
