When safety Vinnie Sunseri signed with the New England Patriots on July 24, the NFL transaction reunited him with two former Alabama teammates.
Sunseri was a freshman on Alabama's 2011 BCS national-championship team when New England linebacker Dont'a Hightower was a consensus All-American for the Crimson Tide.
Sunseri and New England cornerback Cyrus Jones were teammates at Alabama in 2012 and 2013, and their relationship served as the subject for an installment of the video series "Patriots Today" on the NFL team's official web site this week.
WATCH THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS' "CYRUS JONES AND VINNIE SUNSERI: THE TIES THAT BIND"
"At Alabama, I looked at him as a big brother," Jones said of Sunseri.