The first two songs Claire Roby learned as a child were “Jesus Loves Me” and “Yea, Alabama,” and not in that order.
Claire was raised the daughter of Crimson Tide football legend Billy Neighbors but married an Auburn grad, Bubba Robby. Because she didn’t want maroon stuff hanging around her house, to keep it fair, she didn’t decorate with Alabama stuff either. But when her eldest son, Jackson, was interested in an Alabama football helmet as a young boy, she didn’t complain.
More than a decade later, Jackson is gearing up for his final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium as an Alabama football player with the Iron Bowl against Auburn this Saturday. He has continued a legacy of champions while blazing his own trail as an offensive lineman with the Crimson Tide for the past five years.
“It takes a very rare species to keep running,” Claire said. “He loves Alabama. He’s loved it all his life. It’s all he ever wanted to do.”
family of champions
Jackson Roby gives his grandfather Billy Neighbors a high five on the day of Neighbors induction into the College Football Hall of Fame
Courtesy of the Roby family
Few families sum up “Built by Bama” better than the Neighbors. Billy the patriarch captained the 1961 Alabama team and helped lead the Crimson Tide to Bear Bryant’s first national championship in Alabama.
“My dad was in the room when Coach Bryant said, ‘If you do what we say, we’ll be national champions in four years,'” Claire said. “And my father was the captain of that team.”
Billy played both ways for the Crimson Tide and was a unanimous All-American that season. He played eight seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Claire’s two brothers, Wes and Keith Neighbors, both played for Alabama. Wes was an All-SEC center in 1986 while Mike Shula was the quarterback and Keith was part of the national championship team under Gene Stallings in 1992.
Wes’ two sons, Wesley and Connor, also played college football. Wesley was a safety at Alabama from 2008-2011, winning two national championships, and then served on the Alabama coaching staff as a graduate assistant or defensive analyst from 2011-2017 and won three more national championships. He now serves as a safety coach in Maryland under former Alabama assistant Mike Locksley.
Deviating slightly from family tradition, Connor played at LSU from 2010-2014. However, he also spent time in Alabama as a strength and conditioning coach with football and baseball. He is now the director of strength and conditioning for Louisiana football.
Jackson performed in Alabama in 2018 and has spent the last five seasons with the Crimson Tide. He was part of the 2020 national championship team and was joined by his cousin Hayden Neighbors on the 2022 team.
In addition to playing and coaching, members of the Neighbors family have been part of eight national championship teams for the Crimson Tide (1961, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020) and many other SEC championships.
Billy died in 2012, but his wife, Susan, is still alive and attends many football games in Alabama to support their grandchildren. Claire said her father is delighted with all that his family has achieved and how his legacy still lives on.
“He didn’t like the pressure his name put on his grandchildren, but he’d be damn proud of them,” Claire said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
A dream becomes true
Jackson graduated in May with a degree in marketing. Many of his friends in Alabama have graduated or entered the transfer portal, but he still had something he wanted to achieve in Alabama and decided to come back for a fifth year.
“Jackson came back last year because it was his dream to get on the field,” Claire said. “That was his goal. That was his dream all along, that he wanted to get on the pitch.”
Earlier this season, that dream finally became a reality.
A little over two minutes from time in Alabama’s 63-7 win over Louisiana-Monroe, cheers erupted from the Crimson Tide touchline as a player jogged onto the field to join the offensive line at the right guard point.
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Jackson’s physique isn’t quite the typical Alabama lineman, and his looks played a minor role in the game. However, for three snaps, he was the tallest player at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“When he had that moment and to see how his teammates react,” Claire said. “We were just really proud of him and excited.”
The Roby family got a bird’s-eye view from a friend’s suite in the end zone, and their phones immediately began exploding, with the support and excitement of friends and family. That excitement was equally evident among his teammates, making the moment even more special for his sister, Willa.
“It just happened all at once,” Willa said. “It was a brief moment. But I remember watching his teammates get really excited was the most fun.”
After the game, Jackson’s phone was flooded with messages from former teammates, including current New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. Of course, the reception should come as no surprise to those who understand the role he’s played in the Crimson Tide’s dressing room over the past few years.
“He’s a sticky guy,” Bubba said. “His teammates see him there every day and the contributions he makes. And they all understand and understand that things have changed with the transfer portal and NIL and everything and the redshirt rule, it’s really hard for people like him to even see the field now. It’s a lot harder than it was five or six years ago. They see that he’s training every day and it means a lot to them that he’s being rewarded.”
Special senior day recognition
Roby will be one of 17 players to be recognized for Senior Day this Saturday ahead of the Iron Bowl. Earlier this week, Nick Saban spoke about the importance of the ceremony, saying it is an opportunity to recognize the sacrifices and investments players have made into the program.
Courtesy of the Roby family
“Some of them get a lot of positive accolades because they play and they get a lot of positive self-gratification for the positive performance, but there are a lot of them that are kind of unsung heroes because they work hard every week and they play their games at the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to help the other guys get ready for the game and they don’t get much credit,” Saban said. “So it’s a great opportunity for these guys to get some positive masturbation for all their efforts .”
Alabama starting defenseman DJ Dale will be one of the more prominent seniors at the ceremony. However, he’s quick to recognize the importance that walk-ons like Roby have in the program.
“Ultimately, they’re what set us up for the game and we’re not going to play well without them,” said Dale. “They give us a great look. And they get no credit. Here we appreciate them. We have people who have been doing this for years. So we really appreciate them and we love them. They are brothers just like everyone else.”
About 20 minutes before kickoff between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers, the seniors will be lining up with their family members and posing for photos with Saban. The fact that the ceremony will take place before the Iron Bowl will make the moment a little sweeter for Jackson, who grew up in the state and graduated from Hunstville High School.
There will always be at least one more game in a Crimson Tide uniform no matter what bowl game Alabama finishes in, but wrapping up a career for the Crimson Tide, the three SEC championships, will be a special moment , a national title, the 2019 Bryant Non-Scholarship Player Award, and an appearance on the 2019 SEC Academic Honor Roll.
“Jackson Roby wouldn’t change anything,” Claire said. “I know that. He will tell you. He wouldn’t change anything, just the relationships he’s made… He doesn’t care about me. He cares about the team and that’s just who he is. And he loves it. He loves Alabama.”
Courtesy of the Roby family
See also:
Alabama players share what the Iron Bowl means to them
Greatest rivalry really is out of the question, Alabama-Auburn
How to watch the Iron Bowl: #8 Alabama vs. Auburn
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