CONCORD, N.C.—Before the most popular racecar driver in America called him a teammate, before the rumbling of stock cars and the roaring of tens of thousands of NASCAR fans filled his ears on weekends, all William Harrell could hear was the ticking. The clock on his football life was about to strike triple zero.
This was in the spring of 2013, after Harrell, 25, had devoted a lifetime to the game and defied every expectation. A standout defensive end at Hale County High in the small west central Alabama town of Moundville, Harrell had passed on offers from Memphis and Western Alabama to walk on with Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide.