Jumbo Package: William Sanders says Alabama RBs are “scary” talented
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Happy Gump Day, everyone. Check out what William Sanders has to say about Alabama’s running backs.
“Honestly, it’s a little scary how talented we are,” Sanders said. “Just at running back, you have such a wide variety — strength guys, speed guys. That’s the thing. Everyone is fast. Everyone is strong. We’re definitely a set-apart group when it comes to running backs.”
That is the type of confidence Alabama fans have been hoping to hear after an inconsistent rushing attack a season ago.
I hope to be utterly terrified by what I see.
Sanders also spoke about the frustration of sitting out spring with injury.
Sanders is entering year three with Alabama, looking to build upon his reps last season. He played in two games as a true freshman in 2024 and 15 in 2025 as a redshirt freshman. He’s looking to earn a starting spot with the Crimson Tide in 2026. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds, Sanders is playing at his goal weight. He credited the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff with helping him stay in shape after his recovery from injury.
“That’s all thanks to the strength staff and the athletic training staff,” he said. “I don’t think I’d be in the same position I am now without that great group of people. Both of them just made sure they kept me on a great plan, kept me locked in, and really just showed me, ‘Even though you’re hurt, we’re gonna modify this to make sure you come back as you were, and then build upon that.’”
Brad Crawford of CBS projects Alabama only 6th in the SEC.
The Crimson Tide no longer overwhelm opponents with unmatched trench depth. They just watched 10 starters become NFL Draft picks from a roster once stacked two-deep at nearly every position. There is particular concern at offensive line, wide receiver and defensive line following several departures, including James Smith, Qua Russaw (both transferred to Ohio State) and Isaiah Horton (transferred to Texas A&M). Alabama still recruits at an elite level, but doesn’t cast the same intimidating shadow it did under Saban. Opponents now believe they can go toe-to-toe with the Crimson Tide offensively, and that matters.
Quarterback uncertainty could become a weekly storyline if Alabama fails to establish consistency early with either Austin Mack or Keelon Russell. DeBoer’s system works best with balance and efficiency, but the SEC punishes finesse teams.
Nine or 10 wins get celebrated almost everywhere else. In Tuscaloosa, that sparks questions about whether the dynasty can return. That’s the burden DeBoer inherited. And if Alabama slips defensively or fails to develop a physical rushing attack, regression becomes less of a hot take and more of an expectation.
Nick Saban is running his annual Nick’s Kids golf tournament this week.
The Alabama football legend hosted the 20th annual Nick’s Kids Foundation Golf Tournament at the Old Overton Club in Vestavia Hills Tuesday, May 19. But Saban wouldn’t share who he would want to share a golf cart with.
“That would be unfair because there’s so many great people, number one, players, number two, guys I enjoy being around, number three, because they’re relationships that were developed while they were players and continue on in the future,” Saban said. “It would be totally unfair for me to pick one person.”
Max Olson of ESPN notes that the transfer portal has rendered QB competitions almost obsolete.
Sure, there are still a few major ones underway across college football, none more compelling than at Alabama. But offseason competitions at this position seem as if they’re starting to go the way of the fax machine on signing day.
If a major program has two or more QBs competing throughout the offseason, that’s usually due to inexperience. And in this revenue-sharing era, everybody’s paying for the luxury of experience.
Two-hundred FBS scholarship quarterbacks entered the transfer portal in January. We’re expecting to see 30 or more transfers take over as starters for the Power 4’s 68 programs in 2026. Among the QB situations that appear settled exiting spring ball, only 16 of 55 teams (29%) are set to start passers they signed out of high school.
And now that the spring transfer portal has been eliminated, schools must lock in their QB plan in January and spend accordingly.
Last, the Big Ten is sufficiently miffed by Nebraska’s arbitration loss pertaining to warehoused NIL deals through Playfly to consider creating its own rules.
The growing pains of the CSC, the enforcement arm that the power conferences themselves created out of the multibillion-dollar House v. NCAA settlement last July, have been apparent. Its NIL clearinghouse was supposed to clear or reject third-party deals within 24 to 48 hours, but only 45% of deals have been resolved within that window. Bjork, who served on the House Implementation Committee, said the system is jammed but salvageable if the conferences can convince the plaintiffs in the House case to change the language in the deal.
He and other athletic directors believe the system is too restrictive on players by limiting third-party deals with multimedia rights companies. Earlier this month, an arbitrator held up the CSC’s decision to deny 18 NIL deals between Nebraska football players and Playfly Sports, which is partnered with Nebraska’s athletics department, because the CSC labeled it as an “associated entity.” In an unrelated case, House plaintiffs are set to question the CSC’s definition of an “associated entity” in a California courtroom in June.
The superleague inches closer.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
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