This story appears in the Aug. 12, 2019, issue of Sports Illustrated. For more great storytelling and in-depth analysis, subscribe to the magazine—and get up to 94% off the cover price. Click here for more.
Julian Lewis is only 11 years old, but Nick Saban knows who he is. As Julian’s dad, T.C., tells it, at Alabama’s youth camp in June, the Crimson Tide coach took in the majestic precision of the boy’s quarterbacking, sidled up beside him and said, “I want you back. Every summer.”
Julian had been training for that moment since he was eight, that tender age when most boys are preoccupied with searching for boogers, not receivers downfield.