Tony Tsoukalas

Special to the Advertiser

TUSCALOOSA — They call themselves the assassins. It’s a name that sprouted up around the end of last season.

The origin is simple, just look at them.

Alabama returns one of the most talented wide receiving corps in the nation, highlighted by sophomore standout Calvin Ridley, who led the SEC with 89 receptions to go with 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

Ridley gets all the glory, call him the Tony Soprano of the bunch. However, when the Crimson Tide needs to get physical with a big block, it turns to its hit man.

So who does Alabama call on most for its dirty work?

“ArDarius Stewart, guaranteed,” Ridley said Sunday. “He’s a dog. He’s got a lot of heart.”

Stewart isn’t Alabama’s biggest receiver, that role belongs to 6-foot-5 junior Cam Sims. He’s just the meanest. The 6-foot-1 junior from Fultondale is credited as the originator of the “assassins” nickname and has stressed the importance of bringing a physical mentality to the field multiple times this offseason.

“You’ve got to be the slashers,” Stewart said. “You got to come in when we need a big play, go down the field and sacrifice our bodies and make something happen, make something come through. When we’re down, when we’re struggling, we’re the guys that try and get the momentum of the game to swing back in our hands.”

It’s hard to tally blocks at the receiver position, the group is much better known for highlight catches and breakaway speed. However, that doesn’t mean those physical moments don’t add up.

Perhaps the best way to realize the true meaning of the assassins is just to watch them work.

The defining play came midway through the second quarter of last year’s game at Mississippi State. Lining up on the Alabama 40-yard line, Ridley caught a short pass over the middle from quarterback Jake Coker, before stopping on a dime to complete an ankle-breaking juke on Mississippi State defensive back Mark McLaurin.

The highlight will best be defined by that moment, but to understand what makes Alabama’s receivers so great, one must look closer. Running from the other side of the field, Stewart quickly comes into the picture, chasing down Mississippi State defensive back Tolando Cleveland at the 15 to free Ridley for the touchdown.

“When Calvin took off, I didn’t even think he was going to able to make that move on the dude,” Stewart said. “When I saw it I was like, ‘Oh,’ and I tried to get to him, so I got there.”

Ridley and Stewart return as the Tide’s top two receivers, combining for 1,745 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air. If that’s not enough to keep SEC corners up at night, the Tide has added a few new members to its gang.

This year, Alabama brings in 6-foot-3 graduate transfer Gehrig Dieter, who tallied 94 receptions for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns last season with Bowling Green. Also returning is 6-foot-2 junior Robert Foster, who is fully recovered from a torn rotator cuff that sidelined him for most of last season.

To be an assassin you have to train like one, and that means plenty of discipline. Every drop, every mental mistake in practice means the group does 10 pushups.

“We got to get the new guys in, try to work them in and show them how we do it,” Stewart said. “We got to be together, we’re a band of brothers. We just want to keep that going.”

The assassins’ grit chips away at defenders. Just ask any member of the Alabama secondary, whose daily routine in practice is to avoid becoming its latest victim.

“Every day you got to bring your A-plus game,” sophomore defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “When we get in the games, sometimes the games are easier than practice.”

Consider the Mississippi State block Stewart’s warning shot. The leader of the assassins believes there much more to come.

“I don’t want to go out there and be soft, pushing me around or whatever,” Stewart said. “I come out because I want to set the tone.”