Jumbo Package: Nate Oats isn’t going anywhere
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Happy Friday, everyone. Nate Oats went on ESPN Radio yesterday and said something that should be music to every Alabama fan’s ears.
“I’ve known Warde Manuel for a while, but they’ve got a coach,” Oats said. “I’m very happy where I’m at in Alabama. I’ve got a pretty hefty buyout for a good reason because I don’t plan on leaving here. I think, hopefully coach (Mike) Boynton does really well this year. I think the plan is that he’s there for the year at a minimum. I think they’re pretty well set going into this year. I think it would be a smart move with the roster they’ve got together to keep some continuity there. I will not be in maize and blue if that’s what you’re asking.”
Boynton, an assistant coach to May, was named the interim coach for the Wolverines this week, though he hasn’t been named the permanent coach at this time.
It should be another fine year for Alabama basketball.
Kalen DeBoer went on the air as well. He announced the addition of an assistant OL coach who has worked under Adrian Klemm in the past.
Alabama football continues to bolster its staff as training camp nears.
The Crimson Tide has added Viane Talamaivao to help coach the offensive line, Kalen DeBoer told the Martin Houston Show on Thursday.
Talamaivao was brought in to work with offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, his former boss at Oregon.
“He’s got his right hand man,” DeBoer said. “We experienced and we faced them and they had a really good offensive line there.”
DeBoer also spoke about the hand wringing over the 2027 class.
“We’re never comfortable,” DeBoer said. “We’re just continuing to push. We have to do things, make decisions that sometimes aren’t popular just as far as going a certain route with things. You take what you have, and you maximize it.
“If we were just loading up with a whole new freshman class, someone’s got to leave. All these guys we’ve invested time in, we’re recruiting over. There’s gonna be attrition, you’ve got to plan for that. There’s going to be guys that are just getting beat out and want to go find a place… We want to keep developing these guys, keep working with what we have, and hopefully our retention is what it is to where you get these older teams at some point and you get these guys who play a lot of snaps, and not just a lot of snaps but a lot of snaps together.”
Alabama took a massive haul the past two seasons, and only one player from those groups has transferred out. You can disagree with him if you like, but it’s evident that he liked what he got in 2025-26 more than he likes what he sees in the 2027 group.
Matt Stahl covered AK Dear in the latest “50 players” piece.
While the run game struggled mightily last season, one younger member of Alabama’s squad stuck out in a positive way. His brightest moments came against Eastern Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe, but Dear impressed fans while seeing action in four regular-season games plus the SEC championship game.
He finished the year with 140 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. The Mississippi native’s best day came against ULM, when he led the team with 76 yards rushing.
Dear joined the program as a four-star recruit, the No. 2 running back in the 2025 class. According to both himself and the coaches, he had a hard time adjusting to being on the bench, but improved throughout the year.
Colin Gay wrote about the linebacker group. Kalen DeBoer has already used the term “captain” in reference to Caleb Woodson, so it’s fairly certain that he will be starting in the middle. There should be a fierce competition next to him.
The spot next to Woodson is an entirely different animal, one where the Crimson Tide has its share of potential answers.
Alabama could turn to third-year players Cayden Jones or QB Reese, or second-year options like Luke Metz, Duke Johnson II and Abduall Sanders Jr. The Crimson Tide could also turn to five-star freshman Xavier Griffin, the Jihaad Campbell comp who has been turning heads ever since his arrival in January.
No matter who starts, experience is limited in the middle of Alabama’s defense, which will be a major talking point heading into the fall.
Parker Brailsford is already impressing in Cleveland.
Brailsford, while undersized, offers something to the Browns that they haven’t had at the center position: athleticism. Browns GM Andrew Berry was quoted as saying, “Centers that can pull and work at the second level and get to the perimeter because of their athleticism and speed, they give you a lot of optionality in the run game,” when speaking about Brailsford.
This frame and athleticism make sense when you compare Brailsford to another center who has succeeded in Todd Monken’s offense, Tyler Linderbaum. While Linderbaum was regarded much higher than Brailsford, being selected with the 25th pick overall in the first round of his respective draft, both Linderbaum and Brailsford have similar strengths and frames.
Last, the NCAA scored a rare but important win in court.
Kessler has already announced that they will be appealing to Wilkin, but she approved the settlement initially so that seems unlikely to get anywhere. For now, the salary cap has teeth.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
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