Bama’s Ross Pierschbacher had quite a career with the Tide

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., - The first question Alabama offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher received at the NFL combine on Thursday was about the day Nick Saban came to visit him in his hometown of Cedar Falls.

'They actually had to leave early because they probably were going to get snowed in if they stayed,” Pierschbacher said. 'They headed out really quick, but it meant a lot and it was a pretty big deal in my hometown, being from Iowa and stuff like that.”

Pierschbacher committed to the Hawkeyes in January 2013. He decommitted and then he again committed to the Hawkeyes. Then, he visited Alabama. And, in August, the 6-4, 309-pounder committed to the Crimson Tide and that was that.

It worked out. Pierschbacher won a pair of national titles with the Tide. His 57 career starts, including eight in the College Football Playoff, is a record for position players at Alabama.

'It was nothing against the Iowa program,” Pierschbacher said. 'They have a great thing going there and coach (Kirk) Ferentz knows how to develop offensive line and he's a great guy.”

Yes, he still hears things from Iowa fans.

'Yes, there are still those people who, ‘Hey, why didn't you go to Iowa? You should've done this, you should've done that,'” Pierschbacher said. 'I was happy with my decision. I had a lot of success at the University of Alabama. I achieved all of the goals that I ever dreamed of and more, so it was an awesome experience, for sure.”

Pierschbacher has a future in the NFL. After 42 starts at left guard, he was the Tide's starting center during their national runnerup year in 2018.

'One of the selling points I like to tell teams is I've started at all three interior positions,” Pierschbacher said. 'I know what it looks like to win. I know what it takes to win. I've played at the highest level at all three interior O-line positions. Obviously in the NFL, they only carry seven or eight guys, so you're going to have to play multiple roles, so that's a huge bonus for me. It's definitely going in my sales pitch to teams.”

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