From Amari Cooper to Calvin Ridley to Jerry Jeudy, it’s amazing how Alabama has gone into South Florida and found three of the best receivers and route runners college football has seen in the last decade.
What does Zion Williamson think of 7-6 Tacko Fall saying he won’t allow him to posterize him? Clears throat: “What is he supposed to say? Is he supposed to say I’m going to dunk on him? He said the right thing.”
Eli Drinkwitz uses his media days opening to call for Mike Leach to be in the College Football Hall of Fame. He acknowledges Leach is 1 win short of the standard in terms of win percentage but says the HOF is incomplete without him in it and an exception should be made.
Preach
Nick Saban says he had a meeting with the leadership group today and brought up the difficulty working from home. “When I come there I can raise hell with you guys. I’m here and Miss Terry raises hell with me."
Two Florida fans came out for Billy Napier’s final game at Louisiana. And somehow amid the chaos they got a selfie. College football is so beautifully weird.
You think this one meant something extra for Alabama? Saban ran over to the student section to give them a round of applause — a first, I believe. Then Milroe joined in on the fun.
On ESPN Twitter CFB Show, Saban made the case for Bama getting in the playoff. He talked about Bryce's injury vs. Ark and how he was limited in practice when he came back. He pointed to a 3-0 close to the season. Saban said you have to ask, "How are they playing at present?"
Mullen is asked about the possibilty of making the playoff with two losses should UF beat Bama in the SEC CG. He says he doesn’t have a vote but, "I guess the best thing to do would have been to play less games because you seem to get rewarded for not playing this year."
Eddie Conyers, the referee Alabama has used in practice for more than 50 years, has showed up for Tua’s announcement. That’s got to be a first. And it ought to tell you something about Tua.
Tua Tagovailoa sat down with
@KirkHerbstreit
to talk about his future. “If I leave, the risk is, do I still go in the first round or do I even make it to the second round?” he said. “These guys don't even know if I can play with the hip injury yet.”
Jalen Hurts to Oklahoma. Excited to see what he does in Lincoln Riley’s offense. Going head-to-head with Alabama in next season’s playoff would really be something.
Tyler Booker bringing the heat. I asked how he felt about Saban not predicting Alabama to make the SEC title game. “He always used to say, ‘Don���t let some guy that lives in their mom’s basement determine how you feel.’ So I’m not gonna let some guy who plays golf all day
Will Grier said Ohio State losing at Purdue showed that anyone can lose on any given Saturday. “Not including Alabama,” he added. “Geez. They’re playing pretty well.”
Saban on Zach Smith: I really never did ever offer this guy a job. We did interview him. … When we did a background check we decided it was better to hire someone else.
Sarah Fuller's name will go down in history as the first woman to play in a P5 football game. But to understand who she is, you need to get to the real stuff. I’m talking about the struggle and the pain and the disappointment that came before the triumph.
I went to Kentucky to profile Lynn Bowden and found myself absorbed by another story. “It couldn’t have happened to two of the most perfect, well-rounded people I’ve ever met in my life,” Vince Marrow told me. “We don’t question God. But these two?”
Alabama C Landon Dickerson is out for the rest of the season after an MRI revealed ligament damage, Nick Saban told
@ClowESPN
A big loss as Dickerson was the heart of what was perhaps the best offensive line in CFB.
I’m going to tweet this and you’re going to look at me like I have three heads but … I’d argue this game is actually a net positive for Bama. Slipping up like this vs. Citadel (and surely winning) allows Nick Saban to yell at his team this week and actually mean it.
And this right here tells you how much respect Landon Dickerson has among his teammates. They’re all coming to his side before the cart takes him to the locker room.
Dylan Moses’ father, lawyer Edward Moses Jr., told ESPN that they are reviewing and negotiating insurance policies with Alabama. He said that Nick Saban and the staff have been understanding and supportive. “At the moment we are just doing our due diligence.”
“The two main reasons I came back was to get my degree and win a national championship,” DeVonta Smith said shortly after winning the Heisman Trophy. “I checked one box and I’m trying to check the other now.”
Nick Saban was asked today about Scott Satterfield implying Alabama tampered with former Louisville receiver Tyler Harrell. Saban said, “We don’t tamper with anybody.”
Jalen Milroe said there were "100%" sharks in the water hoping he'd enter the portal once Nick Saban retired. "Of course" there were teams reaching out, he added. But he chose to stay, hoping to grow as a QB.
"Coach Mitch, Coach Sheridan are doing a really good job with me,
I went to Nick Saban’s hometown in W.V. to write about his high school winning a state championship 50 years ago. I ended up learning that the teammate they call “Brother” hasn’t changed one bit.
He noticed everything, even the towels.
Alabama QB Ty Simpson, who had an excellent spring, will not be entering the transfer portal, his father tells
@247Sports
. "He told Coach DeBoer, 'I want to be a part of your first national championship team.'"
Bryce Young is such a cool customer. He struggled for pretty much all of regulation behind a terrible offensive line. Then, with the game on the line, he delivered over and over again.
Uncommon poise and ability.
Steve Sarkisian said no the first time Lane Kiffin asked. Then he came to Bama on fire, learning all the offensive terminology in 4 days.
A story on a brilliant football mind, a fiery competitor and a career that went off the rails and is back on track.
"Sit up! Anybody who has a soft neck, you won't play here!"
I dug deep into Nick Saban’s start as a head coach at Toledo and let me tell you he WAS NOT messing around.
I asked Dallas Turner about the lack of pressure on JJ McCarthy. "It might be some plays where I'm dropping or I'm spying or something like that," he said. "I don't always rush the quarterback. Why? I don't know. I just do what I'm told."
It’s hard to believe we’ve seen the last of Jalen Hurts in college. His career, from start to finish, from Alabama to Oklahoma, from star to backup and then a star again, is as compelling as any I’ve ever seen or ever will see. To me, it’s been defined by one word: determination.
Life after winning gold hasn’t been easy for Suni Lee. She opened up about feeling “imposter syndrome” and nearly pulling herself out of meets at Auburn due to anxiety.
“It's important because a lot of the times people forget that we're human,” she said
His Colorado State teammates jokingly call him Bengay and Father Time. But when he speaks, they listen. And it’s not hard to see why.
On Veterans Day, meet Joshua Griffin, the Iraq War vet turned 33-year-old walk on.
Kadyn Proctor said leaving Alabama was "one of the worst decisions ... in my life." Exclusive to
@247Sports
, he opens up on Iowa, getting back to UA + why he went straight to DeBoer's office to apologize.
"They’re going to see a different person"
A week ago, Jimbo Fisher called opposing coaches irresponsible “clowns” for griping about NIL and Texas A&M recruiting. Have to wonder how that plays out at SEC meetings today.
After 12 years at ESPN, it’s time for a change. And thankfully it won’t require a formal change of address. Today I joined
@247Sports
as a senior writer for
@Bama_247
. While I may have another Saban story in me, I’m excited to write about DeBoer and where he takes the program.
Saban stops before leaving, tells reporters, "I would appreciate it if you looked at the things we didn’t so well.” He wants to show it to players this week. So basically he’s asking for bad press.
Inside the rise of Tua: Bama's Heisman caliber QB burst on the scene vs. Georgia, but sources say his emergence was actually months in the making.
“That building knew,” said one former coach.
And so did (randomly) Terrell Owens. Let me explain:
Jalen Hurts handled his benching with class. The next phase in spring practice is going to be just as compelling: Can he regain his hold at QB from his backup and sudden star Tua Tagovailoa?
There are going to be a lot of bad tweets about the playoff today. If you feel compelled to point them out, please do it with the unmatched joy of Landon Dickerson.
Feels appropriate to bring back this from Saban re: poaching staff. “I’m gonna help you get a job, so that you can take what I’ve tried to build here and destroy the continuity of what I have? It’s amazing how some of the assistants don’t understand why that’s not a good thing.”
This is such a crazy story. Zeb Noland, who came to South Carolina to be a coach, will instead be the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback on Saturday, sources told
@ClowESPN
.
News: Jalen Kitna, who was dismissed by Florida following an arrest for felony charges that were later dropped, has committed to UAB. A spokesperson tells ESPN he’s been admitted to school after what Trent Dilfer described as “extensive due diligence.”
Five years ago, EA Sports NCAA Football hit the shelves for the final time. O’Bannon became a villain and players’ dreams were crushed. But the game never truly went away thanks to the gamers who undertake a “labor of love” to keep it alive.
Twitter? The Internet? Who needs that to keep up with the early signing day when you can read a good old fashioned billboard? Alabama is serious about keeping the locals informed. This is on the corner of the busy intersection of McFarland & 15th.
“With the success that I've had here in my first two years, I've built a brand for myself and I've tried to represent this university in the best way I can.” — Jalen Hurts
And no one can say otherwise. He could have fanned flames on social, but waited, gave a thoughtful response
A quick reminder that this is the same LSU team that beat Georgia, 36-16. The Tigers rushed for 275 yards against the Bulldogs, and yet they have -3 rushing yards through three quarters tonight. Simply put, Bama is a cut above the rest of the SEC.
Tua Tagovailoa, who is recovering from a high-ankle sprain, was at Alabama’s first bowl practice today. While the Bama QB didn’t participate in one footwork drill I saw, he did everything else during the media viewing period.
The trio was initially called the Bobblehead Boys. Then, after a frustrating first year, Jaylen Waddle came along, everything clicked and they became the Ryde Outs.
Here’s a story about how Alabama's receivers took CFB by storm:
What began as a story about the origin of the Bama-Tenn. cigar tradition led me to learn more about a little known trainer and discover a deeply moving letter from Bear Bryant’s wife.
“I’d like to tell you a little about what he waited too long to say”
Nick Saban is once again the highest paid coach in CFB. He received a contract extension through 2030 and raise today. Average pay: $11.7 million.
Edges him ahead of Kirby Smart's new deal of $11.2 million.
So how does Nick Saban like to be addressed? “I respond to just about anything. I’ve been called just about everything.”
Adds: “It’s not something important to me.”
Nick Saban just provided Will Anderson with one of best compliments I’ve ever heard from him. Saban said the star edge-rusher is a throwback player who will “run through a wall.” He added, “He has great ability. But he plays to that ability because he’s a dog-ass competitor.”
Alabama wasted no time getting that third test in, flying it to Mobile to facilitate a quicker turnaround. It would have taken ~3.5 hours if they sent the test by car.
Talk about throwing shade. Asked about the crowd at Auburn, Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott had this to say: “People cheer. You go to any school in the SEC, except for maybe Vanderbilt, and people are cheering.”
Ed was the best. He was kind and so full of life. We got lunch at Archibald’s a few weeks back. I know we talked about a lot that day, but what I remember most now is how excited he was to marry Katy. Please keep her in your thoughts tonight.
Jalen Hurts might have been the happiest person in the Alabama locker room after beating Georgia. Seriously, he wouldn't stop smiling. Say what you will about the decision to bench him for Tua Tagovailoa, but Hurts handled it with total class.
How about Mississippi State getting two of the four First Team All-SEC defensive linemen? Montez Sweat and Jeffery Simmons combined for 14 sacks, 23.5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks this season. If Sweat comes back for his senior...
Alabama OL Landon Dickerson rolling with the *very* Bama truck customization. It’s definitely the first I’ve seen of something like this. (Via Najee Harris IG)
Dan Mullen is wearing a Darth Vader mask while talking to reporters. He’s also addressing a fight that took place right before halftime.
So, yeah, things are kinda weird.
A bit of professional news: this will be my final season covering college football for ESPN. I’ll be leaving the company after 12 rewarding years. I’m not sure what the future holds, but I’m not done trying to tell interesting stories.
Tua Tagovailoa says he doesn’t cook for his o-line and he doesn’t buy them dinner. Instead he points to the nutrition center where dinner is free. “We’re all on a budget over here.”
Bryce Young said the decision to not opt out didn't take long. "I have another chance to be a leader and play with my brothers, and that's not something I can pass up."
Mac Jones announces that he’s turning pro. I’m not going to call him the best Alabama QB of all-time, but he had maybe the best single season ever. He passed for 4,500 yards and 41 TD. He threw only 4 INT and completed 77.4 % of his passes which is insane when you think about it.