TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Playing at Bryant-Denny Stadium is a dream for high schoolers everywhere, but it became a reality for life-long Crimson Tide fan and Florence native Kneeland Hibbett when he embraced his opportunity as a preferred walk-on in 2021.
"As soon as I got to Tuscaloosa, it was extremely surreal," said Hibbett. "Being able to be around the guys that I was watching a season before, since I was such a big fan, it was just a really cool experience. But, the moment I got here and got the opportunity, there was just no stopping my mind from telling myself I'm going to be the starting snapper from next four years."
And that's what Hibbett did. He went from snapping and occasionally even catching a touchdown pass as a Florence Falcon, to becoming a four-year starter and first team All-SEC selection at the University of Alabama.
The long snapper has certainly accomplished a lot and his old high school coach says he respects that Hibbett found a way to get himself on the field.
"He doesn't necessarily have the body type to be an Alabama offensive lineman or Alabama tight end or all those kinds of things," said Former Florence Head Football Coach Will Hester. "But he does have one to be able to snap the ball with great velocity and cover punts and protect on field goals and all those kinds of things. So I think it was very perceptive on his part to be able to identify, 'hey, if I want to, you know, do what I've always dreamed of doing, I've got to do it differently than some other people.'"
When FOX54 Sports asked Alabama Head Football Coach Kalen DeBoer about Kneeland Hibbett in August, he said long snappers are undervalued by a lot of people. However the new leader in T-Town proved he's not in line with that thinking by putting Hibbett on scholarship in his final season as a member of the Crimson Tide.
"He deserves [the scholarship] , said DeBoer. "He's he's rock solid and just a great person. We have senior talks that we do and he started us off last week and knocked it out of the park just you can see the type of leader that he is and how much the guys trust and believe in him, how much they respect him."
The guy who probably has to have the most trust in Hibbett is punter and holder James Burnip. The Aussie won his starting job the same year as Hibbett, meaning they have worked closely together for four years.
"Just being able to have that relationship with Kneeland, knowing exactly where that ball is going to come, how quickly it's coming and just knowing each other off the field as well is really helpful when it comes to game time, just knowing that we have each other's back," said Burnip.
But it takes more than just on-field friendships to manage the pressures of student athlete life at Alabama. Luckily, through it all, Hibbett said his mom has been one call away.
"She's been in a lot of situations that I've been in. She went to college [at Alabama] , went through a lot of adversity as a family together. And she's always just been extremely supportive of me in anything I needed to do."
Hibbett said he wants to eventually play in the NFL, but, for the time being, he's only focusing on the season ahead. But if he is remembered for anything from his time in Tuscaloosa, he hopes it's this:
"You don't have to have a star role to be a leader, have an impact on the team. You know, when I talked to [the team] . I said, you know, 'I can't go out and make the game-winning play or score the game-winning touchdown for our team. But, I can do stuff right off the field and leave an impact to show guys what the standard is.'"
Hibbett and the Crimson Tide continue the 2024 regular season on Saturday, Sep 7 versus the University of South Florida. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.