Crimson Red Sports

The aw-shucks boy Alabamians watched grow up is now a man. Today, Brodie is dressed in a tan field coat, blue jeans, and boots. The sunglasses around his neck dangle from a set of Croakies (he’s still got a bit of college boy in him) but his hair is cropped more neatly than that machismo swoosh of his days as Alabama quarterback. He’s a retired NFL star at only 30. His football career is over, and he is busy assembling the rest of his life.

If you didn’t have a clue that he was a quarterback in a former life, you’d think he was just another guy. There is not a speck of pretention in him. He’s got a Cadillac grin, tinged with boyish mischief. He listens to George Strait. His favorite place to eat is Guthrie’s Chicken in Tuscaloosa (“tough to beat” he says). And he swears he doesn’t miss it, football that is. “Only a fool stumbles on what’s behind him,” he quips. “When that chapter closed, it was time for another.”