Jumbo Package: Alabama Football remains ranked 8th by ESPN
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Press conferences are always much more fun the week after a solid win. Grubb, Wommack, and DeBoer were all in fairly talkative moods this time, and here are their videos:
In his first play since joining the Crimson Tide, Alabama got the ball to transfer wide receiver Noah Rogers for a 36-yard gain inside the South Carolina 5-yard line. Rogers was one of the best players for the Tide throughout the spring before suffering a lower-body injury during the spring game.
“Those are the fun moments,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said Monday. “Those are the lucky ones where you use personnel to get Noah in that position. We had pretty high confidence in the coverage structure we’d have in that area of the field, that Noah would have a really good chance to get that football. So we kind of dialed that one up to try to get Noah the ball. They don’t always work out like that, but it did that time and to see him make that play felt really good. I know he was pumped up on the sideline. It was awesome.”
What a great first introduction for Noah Rogers to get in front of the Alabama football fanbase. It’s going to be interesting to see how Rogers ultimately gets worked into this receiver group, as the Tide is running with 2-3 tight end sets much more in years past, you don’t really want to take Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks off the field, and Rico Scott is getting full starting snaps as well for his blocking. Still, too many good players is never a bad problem to have.
Nyck Harbor reeled in a 41-yard touchdown reception against Alabama in the second quarter of Saturday’s game between the Tide and the Gamecocks. Alabama cornerback Dijon Lee was in coverage during the play, but he appeared to trip over his feet and fell down while in coverage. With no help over the top, Harbor was left wide open.
Wommack addressed the play on Monday.
“We limited their explosives in the passing game, outside of obviously the big throw for a touchdown right in the 2-minute drill, which was obviously disappointing,” Wommack said. “Dijon can handle that better from a fundamental standpoint and not get his legs caught up. I also could have put us in a better situation, you know, just with number 8 over there to the boundary. We were rolling coverages to him a lot of the night, and I was trying to take care of something else and probably should have put us in a more rolled-up cover 2 look off of that situation.”
While we always appreciate a coordinator taking blame for something to protect his players, I don’t think it’s unfair to expect your former 5-star recruit at corner to be able to stay on his feet in man coverage. With it happening two games in a row, you really start to worry if it becomes a trend.
Alabama closed out the South Carolina game with two starting offensive linemen not on the field. Left guard William Sanders and right tackle Jayvin James did not finish the Week 4 win, and James walked to the locker room with a boot on his left foot. The Crimson Tide turned to Mal Waldrep at left guard and Tyrell Miller at right tackle in the starters’ absences.
What’s the latest on the pair of offensive linemen?
“Will, upper-body injury during the game. I would expect that he would be able to play on Saturday,” DeBoer said. “So, we’re working through it here, but I would expect that he’ll be ready to go. And it just kind of depends on what the week looks like.
“And then, Jayvin, lower extremity. I would say he’s very much questionable at this time. And so, again, we’ll see how the next 24, 48 hours [go]. I think that will help kind of understand what that looks like at the end of the week. But I would say he’s very questionable at this time.”
Before the home game against the Gamecocks, Alabama ruled out outside linebackers Justin Hill and Desmond Umeozulu. Hill watched the game on crutches with a walking boot on his left foot, while Umeozulu, who is dealing with a turf toe injury, was not on the Tide’s sideline. UA turned to Jah-Marien Latham and Fatutoa Henry for depth on the edge of its defense.
“Both of them will continue to miss some time,” DeBoer said. “Justin will not be as long. Des will be a little further into the season. Justin is a lower extremity, as well as Des. Both happened in the Florida State game.
We also got some vague injury updates from DeBoer. Sounds like Will Sanders and Jayvin James are pretty minor, though James may not make it back this week. On the other hand, his verbiage on Justin Hill and Desmond Umeozulu was a little more ominous. That’s a pretty major loss for the Tide in the edge rushing department, and one that I feel like hasn’t been getting enough attention. Jah-Marien Latham and Kevonte Henry should both step up as more big-bodied edge rushers, but neither are true speed rushers. Can freshman Xavier Griffin step up into that role and make an impact? Remains to be seen, but there’s big hole and room for someone to fill it now.
If you missed it, there’s plenty of film youtubers out there gushing over Keelon Russell and the pass blocking.
Personally, I think that the pass blocking has been life-changing the last couple of weeks. While Keelon has been awesome, imagine the Tide’s offense if Ty Simpson hadn’t been getting beat to a pulp last year. Brooks points it out in a couple of highlights in this video, but seeing the Alabama offensive linemen constantly being aware of the defense and making adjustments to handle twists and stunts is something we haven’t seen in Tuscaloosa in 6 years, and it seems like it may be a major credit to coach Adrien Klemm and TE coach Richard Owens. There’s just something different happening this year.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne’s contract has been extended through the 2032-33 season, the University’s Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approved on Monday.
Byrne’s new deal is worth $2.675 million annually through June 30, 2033. It also has performance-based incentive opportunities. His previous deal in 2024 paid him $2.09 million annually through June 2031.
“Greg’s tenure at UA has consistently yield significant academic and athletic success for our student athletes,” University of Alabama President Peter Mohler said. “He has also established as a premier leader in collegiate athletics. Greg provides a stable force that is pivotal in helping UA both navigate the current environment and chart a course for our future.”
Congrats to Byrne for getting a new extension. I’m not totally sure what the point is considering his current contract is for 5 more years anyway, but hey, congrats to him. May the stability bring further success to Tuscaloosa.
We officially have the gametime for the Alabama-Georgia game in a couple of weeks:
Next week’s Alabama game against Georgia will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and air on ABC, it was announced Monday.
The SEC previously announced in June that the October 10 game in Bryant-Denny Stadium would have a kickoff between 5 and 7 p.m. CT.
This will be the fourth consecutive regular-season nighttime kickoff between Alabama and Georgia. The most recent daytime kickoff between the two schools came in 2015.
A night game in Bryant-Denny is going to be WILD.
College football Power Rankings: What we’ve learned about top teams
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
Previous ranking:8
Don’t look now, but Keelon Russell is dealing at quarterback. The first-year starter made serious headway a week ago versus Florida State. But against South Carolina, he was even better: 21-of-27 passing for 364 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran for a score. Star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams also put together another good game, finding the end zone twice. The Crimson Tide’s defense was opportunistic against South Carolina in forcing two turnovers, but the rush defense left something to be desired, as it allowed 216 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. — Scarborough
ESPN had the Florida Gators jump above Alabama and left the Tide at #8 in their power rankings. Meanwhile, the Indiana Hoosiers also increased a spot despite struggling all day against Northwestern. Oh well. Alabama’s ceiling is as high as any team in the top 5, but there’s still plenty of reason to doubt until they can prove they can stay at that ceiling with any sort of consistency after the last few years.
Finally, here’s this week’s SEC Shorts for your enjoyment
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