Former Alabama football linebacker DeMeco Ryans pledged on April 14 to endow a scholarship in his name, according to a UA press release.

“I have always wanted to do this since the day I left,” Ryans said, according to the release. “The University of Alabama is such a special place to me, and I am honored to have the opportunity to endow a scholarship.”

Ryans pledged $300,000 for the scholarship, which will be awarded to a deserving football student athlete studying in the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, according to the release.

Ryans was drafted 33rd overall in 2006, after being named Most Valuable Player in the 2006 Cotton Bowl. He graduated cum laude in December, 2005.

“I am so very proud of one of our former players giving back,” Mal Moore, UA director of athletics, said in the release. “DeMeco’s generosity is the latest example of the support that so many of our former players have given us throughout the years.”