Former Alabama football WR Marquis Maze has never shied away from sharing his opinion, especially on social media via his X profile.
On Friday, Maze took to X to fire off a tweet that, based on the replies, the vast majority of Alabama fans agree with. Maze thinks it’s time to move on from the “LANK” rallying cry that Alabama has used the last two seasons.
Bama fans it’s time to let the Lank thing go. Every year each team created their own mission statement. I hope this year team create their own identity but do it to the Bama standard Roll Tide🐘 Bama by Fiftyyyy.
The origin of LANK and why it’s time to leave it in the past
QB Jalen Milroe and CB Terrion Arnold came up with the LANK philosophy during the 2023 season. Publicly, the acronym stood for “Let a Naysayer know.” It was the perfect rallying cry for the 2023 team that was written off after a home loss to Texas in September and a pitiful performance on the road against USF in a game Alabama ultimately won 17-3 in a driving rainstorm
Former player says it’s time for Alabama football to retire “LANK” philosophy
Former Alabama football WR Marquis Maze has never shied away from sharing his opinion, especially on social media via his X profile.
On Friday, Maze took to X to fire off a tweet that, based on the replies, the vast majority of Alabama fans agree with. Maze thinks it’s time to move on from the “LANK” rallying cry that Alabama has used the last two seasons.
Maze played at Alabama from 2008-2011 and was a good WR and a dynamic punt returner. He was part of two National Championship teams in 2009 and 2011. He led the 2011 team with 627 receiving yards.
The origin of LANK and why it’s time to leave it in the past
QB Jalen Milroe and CB Terrion Arnold came up with the LANK philosophy during the 2023 season. Publicly, the acronym stood for “Let a Naysayer know.” It was the perfect rallying cry for the 2023 team that was written off after a home loss to Texas in September and a pitiful performance on the road against USF in a game Alabama ultimately won 17-3 in a driving rainstorm.
The team rallied around LANK and ultimately won 11 consecutive games, including the SEC Championship, and made the College Football Playoff.
LANK remained the battle cry of the 2024 team, but they couldn’t capture the magic the 2023 team. Alabama went a disappointing 9-4 and now the players who adopted LANK are now all gone. The 2025 team is practically unrecognizable from who was here in 2023.
Plus, Nick Saban is gone. Last year, Kalen DeBoer was coaching a Saban roster. This year, DeBoer will be coaching his own roster for the first time. It’s only fitting that it comes with a new philosophy, a new mission statement.
Maze is right in that it’s time to leave LANK in the past and let the 2025 team come up with its own identity. It didn’t feel like the 2024 team had an identity. It felt like they were trying to play the hits from a previous team, but they didn’t have the music.
The 2025 team can’t try to be something it’s not. It needs to lean into the new era of Alabama football and carve out its own path
