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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

In 2018, King Mwikuta and the Troup Tigers made a run at a championship, only to come up short in the state semifinals against Blessed Trinity.

A little more than two years later, Mwikuta’s championship dreams have come true.

Mwikuta is a sophomore linebacker for the Alabama football team that beat Ohio State 52-24 on Monday night in Miami.

Mwikuta is a backup linebacker for the Crimson Tide, and he was a key special-teams player throughout the season.

Mwikuta came to Alabama after a spectacular high-school career at Troup where he was an all-state defensive lineman and linebacker.

As a senior, Mwikuta helped Troup go 12-2 and reach the Class AAAA semifinals before losing to eventual state-champion Blessed Trinity.

Mwikuta committed to Alabama during the summer of 2018, and he made it official that December when he signed his letter of intent.

Mwikuta has three seasons of eligibility remaining, and he’ll look to climb the depth chart and become a bigger part of the defense next season.

Mwikuta is the third Troup graduate to win a national championship under head coach Nick Saban.

Demetrius Goode, an all-state running back at Troup, was at Alabama from 2008 to 2010, and he was a member of the 2009 team that went 14-0 and beat Texas in the national-championship game.

Goode, who transferred to Alabama from Hargrave Military Academy, spent his senior season at North Alabama in 2011.

Reuben Foster, who played at Troup for three seasons before transferring to Auburn High, was a starting linebacker when Alabama beat Clemson in the 2016 national-championship game.

Callaway High graduate Terry Godwin nearly won a national title with the Georgia Bulldogs, who lost on the last play of the game in overtime to Alabama in the 2018 championship game.