Jumbo Package: Alabama fans get good news on Michael Carroll

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Happy Thursday, everyone. According to Alex Scarbrough, we should be seeing big Michael Carroll back at right guard on Saturday.

Alabama right guard Michael Carroll, a freshman All-America pick last season, is expected to be available for Saturday’s game vs. Florida State, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Carroll, who missed last weekend’s win at Kentucky with an undisclosed injury, has been back practicing with the team in recent days.

The former No. 1-ranked guard in the class of 2025 switched from right tackle to right guard this offseason. He started and played most of the season-opener vs. East Carolina two weeks ago.

The offensive line found its footing a bit in the second half last week, but Carroll immediately makes them better.

On the other side of the ball, Ashton Daniels isn’t much of a passer but he can hurt you with his legs, and the Seminoles have an elite RB to boot.

One of biggest areas Alabama struggled against Florida State a year ago was with the Seminoles ground game, as the Crimson Tide surrendered 230 rushing yards in the loss, as well as an average of 4.7 yards a carry. This will be key for Alabama defensively again this season with Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels now under center, who rushed for 100+ yards against Alabama a year ago, as well as a group of talented backs headlined by Ousmane Kromah.

There will be no shortage of contact here, but pay attention to what happens immediately after it. Kromah, at 216 pounds, would rather break a tackle than avoid one. He’s been over the 100-yard mark in both the Seminoles’ games, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Per Pro Football Focus, 180 of his 231 yards have come after initial contact. Woodson and Metz have been outstanding for the Crimson Tide through two games, and combined for 20 tackles against Kentucky. If Alabama’s defensive linemen control the line of scrimmage well enough for the linebackers to contain Kromah, the FSU offense will be severely hampered.

Isn’t it great to see running the ball and stopping the run prioritized? Maybe football really is cycling back around from the basketball on grass era.

Behind enemy lines, one FSU writer noted that Alabama has spent an inordinate amount of time in nickel this season, and believes that Kromah might be able to make some hay against it.

Conversely, against an Auburn team that lived out of 11-personnel (92 percent of its snaps against the Crimson Tide), Alabama played over 97 percent of its snaps in either a nickel or dime defense. Those light boxes and the Tide’s second-highest usage of Cover 2 (over 40 percent) made Daniels’ legs a weapon (carrying 23 times) and forced him to find targets underneath, where playmakers like Malcolm Simmons could create after the catch.

So far this season, Alabama’s defense has looked more like the version that Daniels has faced than the one that Florida State took down to start 2025. The Crimson Tide have spent over 90 percent of their snaps in the nickel –  up from a 64.7 percent mark that ranked 112th in the country last season – while playing the nation’s highest rate of Cover 2, which the Seminoles only saw 12.7 percent of the time when they faced off last year.

Norvell said earlier this week that the key to beating Alabama this weekend will be to maintain balance as an offense. Florida State will have to accept the “three-yards and a cloud of dust” situations that present themselves, and capitalize on any explosive plays it can find.

Kalen DeBoer was his usual self on “Hey Coach” last night, meaning that he didn’t say much. But he did ask for a big crowd presence on Saturday, and expects a fast start from his team.

Through two games, Alabama has scored 17 total points in the first quarter. But DeBoer is expecting a faster start, especially against a Florida State team the Crimson Tide opened the 2025 season against and lost.

“As our coaches get more and more information. and our players continue as we have more film each and every week of our opponent, I think they will be even more comfortable and you’ll see even faster starts from our guys playing fast, knowing what to expect from their opponent,” DeBoer said. “I’m looking forward to the next steps we take this week, really challenging our guys to come out, especially in Bryant-Denny Stadium and make some plays right away. Play confident. Play fast.”

As the calendar gets closer to October, we’re starting to get a little bit of basketball talk. Jon Rothstein sees Amari Allen as The Man for Nate Oats this season.

“But he is somebody, again, when you look at what Alabama lost from last season’s team, Amari Allen is primed to step into a much bigger role,” Rothstein said. “Alabama went to the Sweet 16 last season, had obviously all sorts of answers on the perimeter, and now Amari Allen becomes, in my opinion, a player that will explode onto the scene and I think will be Alabama’s all-around best player this season.”

Rothstein said Allen is “one of two double-figure scorers who will return for Alabama.”

That may be the case, but Houston Mallette notes that Aden Holloway is locked in and ready to be a superstar in his own right.

“You can tell by how he plays, how he works out, how he practices, he loves basketball, bro,” Mallette said. “And I think that joy comes from the work, because when I’ve watched Biz work out and Biz shoot, I mean, I’ve seen him make 227 threes without missing two in a row.”

Mallette also credited Alabama coach Nate Oats for giving Holloway the freedom to explore.

“It’s almost like watching somebody enter this flow state. The game slows down, everything connects, and he’s just completely present. And I think that’s the beautiful thing about Biz, the joy you see on gameday is backed by the work that not a lot of people see. That’s why watching him is so therapeutic to me,” Mallette said.

Add in 6’11” Drew Fielder, a highly skilled and polished big man who might be the most impactful portal addition Oats has made in Tuscaloosa, and this squad has loads of potential.

Last, Big House wrote about a small house that sits right outside Bryant-Denny.

Big names from ESPN’s College GameDay crew have rolled through here. Alabama football legends like Billy Neighbors, Lee Roy Jordan, Benny Nelson and Andre Smith, too.

“Marcell Dareus came by recently,” said Mark Ezell, now in his mid-80s.

Johnny Manziel’s parents stopped by before the now-infamous 2012 Texas A&M upset of Alabama — the one that vaulted him to Heisman front-runner status. ESPN’s College GameDay had done a segment on Johnny Football that morning, and they were looking for a TV on which to watch it.

“And his parents sat here right there on that sofa,” Trisha Ezell said. “We actually rewound, you know, showed it to them.”

Paul Finebaum even used their bathroom once to apply some makeup for a TV appearance.

Actress Sela Ward and American Idol singer Taylor Hicks have been by, too.

“Paul Finebaum took a dump in my house” ain’t exactly a flex.

That’s about it for now. Have a great day.

Roll Tide.

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