In 2026, Ford broke his arm. In 1935, Bryant broke his leg. Ford, a tight end, played the next game against Georgia. Bryant, an end, played the next game against Tennessee.
The mentality required to pull it off wasn’t all that different, though.
“The fact that Bear Bryant played with a fibula fracture kind of further indicates his toughness and resiliency and mentality and kind of everything he is legendary for,” Dr. Lyle Cain, orthopedic surgeon at Andrews Sports Medicine, told AL.com. “Even when he was playing in college, that was probably a good indicator of the kind of person he was going to be.”
