EDITOR’S NOTE: Every day until Aug. 29, Creg Stephenson is counting down significant numbers in Alabama football history, both in the lead-up to the 2025 football season and in commemoration of the Crimson Tide’s first national championship 100 years ago. The number could be attached to a year, a uniform number or even a football-specific statistic. We hope you enjoy.

Even if he hadn’t shared his name with the notorious murderer from the Halloween movie series, Michael Myers was one scary dude.

The defensive tackle — who wore No. 96 — joined the Alabama football team in 1996 after two years at Hinds Community College in his home state of Mississippi, and set about wrecking the SEC that season. Myers totaled 66 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 24 quarterback pressures, eight sacks and two fumble recoveries for a Crimson Tide team that finished 10-3 and won the SEC West in its final season under coach Gene Stallings.

The 6-foot-2, 280-pound Myers was a first-team All-American and All-SEC pick as a junior, and toyed with the idea of entering the NFL draft after just one season in Tuscaloosa. He ultimately opted to stay for his senior year, which turned into a disastrous decision for both him and the Crimson Tide.

Myers played well in the 1997 season-opener vs. Houston, totaling eight tackles and a sack in a 42-17 win over Houston. But news broke a few days later that he had accepted hotel expenses and other gifts from two agents during an offseason trip to California.

Alabama had already suffered due to players’ dealings with agents in the recent past, with All-America cornerback Antonio Langham declared ineligible after it was discovered he’d accepted cash from a prospective agent in the hours following the Crimson Tide’s national championship-clinching victory over Miami on New Year’s Day 1993. The NCAA later forced Alabama to forfeit eight victories in Langham played in 1993, and banned the Crimson Tide from postseason play for the first time in program history in 1995.

Alabama suspended Myers immediately upon learning on the agent allegations, and dismissed him from the program about a week later. Though Myers’ father denied his son had committed any wrongdoing, his Crimson Tide career was over after one season and one day. (Because of its proactive stance regarding Myers, Alabama received no sanctions from the NCAA.)

The Myers situation led to Alabama becoming one of the first states to enact a law regarding sports agents, requiring them to register with the state and be certified by professional leagues before they could enter into agreements with players. And they could face prosecution if they attempted to funnel cash and other gifts to players that might endanger their college eligibility.

Alabama’s season fell apart without Myers. The Crimson Tide finished 4-7, its first losing season in 13 years.

After sitting out most of what would have been his senior year, Myers lasted until the fourth round of the 1998 NFL draft, when the Dallas Cowboys selected him with the No. 100 overall. He managed to carve out a 10-year pro career, however, playing for the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos in addition to the Cowboys.

More recently, Myers coached on the high school level in the Dallas area. Included was a stint at John Paul II High School, where former Alabama star — and Cowboys teammate — George Teague was head coach and later athletics director.

Myers’ time at Alabama stands out in the first 100 or so years of Crimson Tide football, as very few players made as big an impact in such a short time. Player movement was restricted by various NCAA rules, and players did not begin leaving early for the NFL until the 1990s.

Since the transfer portal came into being within the last decade, however, one-year standouts at Alabama (and other schools) have become more common. Among those who made a huge mark in just one year with the Crimson Tide were wide receivers Richard Mullaney (2015), Gehrig Dieter (2016) and Jameson Williams (2021) and running back Jahmyr Gibbs (2022).

Williams and Gibbs both transferred from power programs, and both used their “Bama Bounce” to leave college football after their junior seasons and become early-round NFL draft picks. Gibbs in particular has been a major impact player with the Detroit Lions.

Then there is safety Caleb Downs, who won just about every accolade imaginable as a true freshman at Alabama in 2023 — including the Shaun Alexander Award as national freshman of the year — before entering the transfer portal upon Nick Saban’s retirement. He wound up at Ohio State, where he helped the Buckeyes to a national championship this past season and is likely to be among the top players in the country in 2025.

But any list of “one-year wonders” in Alabama football history has to include Michael Myers, the dominant defensive tackle whose time in Tuscaloosa was far shorter than it could have been.

Coming Tuesday: Our countdown to kickoff continues with No. 95, one of the biggest special-teams plays in Alabama history.