Alabama

Julian Sayin, Caleb Downs among players to transfer from Alabama in wake of Nick Saban’s retirement

Published

2 years ago

January 24, 2024

Julian Sayin, Caleb Downs among players to transfer from Alabama in wake of Nick Saban’s retirement

Alabama is used to natural attrition, even in large numbers, with players running out of eligibility or declaring early for the NFL Draft. With the retirement of Nick Saban, though, the Crimson Tide enter a new era without some key players who opted for the transfer portal.

New Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer, who highlighted the importance of player retention at his introductory press conference, is inheriting a roster that’s been decimated by the portal in the two weeks since Saban retired. In all, 10 players have hit the portal, half of which started at least one game in 2023 — an almost unheard of exodus for a program of Alabama’s stature.

To make matters worse, six of those transfers have already committed to other SEC programs, including one that took his talents to Auburn and two former offensive starters that made the jump to Texas, a program that beat Alabama in 2023 and is set to join the conference in 2024. To give DeBoer credit, he has brought in a few transfers — all from his former school, Washington — to staunch the bleeding a little bit.

Alabama is going to have a lot of important production to replace, though. Here’s a breakdown of each player who has entered the portal since Saban decided to step away from the game.

WR Isaiah Bond

Entered: Jan. 12 | New school: Texas

Bond didn’t take long to make a decision on his future, officially entering the transfer portal two days after Saban retired. Two days after that, he committed to Texas. Bond is a significant loss for Alabama’s offense. He’s a big reason why the Crimson Tide made the College Football Playoff, saving their season with his touchdown catch on fourth-and-31 against Auburn to give Alabama a last-second win. Bond ended up leading Alabama with 48 receptions and placed second with 668 yards and four touchdowns.

LB Shawn Murphy

Entered: Jan. 13 | New school: Florida State

On its face, the loss of Murphy makes sense. He spent two seasons with the Crimson Tide and made his impact largely on special teams while playing a minor role on the defense. He finished the 2023 season with three tackles, all of which came in blowout wins against Middle Tennessee State and Chattanooga. But Alabama can hardly afford to lose depth on its defense given attrition both to the NFL and in the transfer portal, and Murphy is a former four-star linebacker who may have played a bigger role in the program moving forward.

CB Dezz Ricks

Entered: Jan. 13 | New school: Texas A&M

The younger brother of former LSU and Alabama defensive back Eli Ricks, Dezz signed with the Crimson Tide in 2023 as the No. 39 player nationally — putting him just outside of five-star range — and No. 3 cornerback in his recruiting class. He couldn’t break through in a loaded secondary and made two appearances off the bench in 2023. Losing a former blue-chip recruit like Ricks always hurts, and as was mentioned with Murphy, Alabama’s defense can hardly afford any hits to its depth.

DB Antonio Kite

Entered: Jan. 13 | New school: Auburn

The 6-foot-1 Kite joined Alabama’s roster in 2022 as a four-star recruit out of Anniston, Alabama. After redshirting as a freshman, he earned a role on special teams in 2023 and appeared in seven games, seeing playing time in both the SEC Championship Game against Georgia and Alabama’s College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against Michigan. He even fielded a punt against the Wolverines, though it didn’t net any yardage. 247Sports ranks Kite as a three-star prospect in the transfer portal.

TE Amari Niblack

Entered: Jan. 14 | New school: Texas

Losing Niblack is a huge blow for Alabama’s offense. While tight ends with at least adequate receiving skills are the norm in college football, it’s hard to come by legitimate options at Niblack’s level. The redshirt freshman had a breakout season in 2023, logging 20 catches for 327 yards and four touchdowns while outplaying veterans like CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts. At 6-foot-4 and 233 pounds, Niblack is a mismatch for any linebacker or safety trying to cover him with his speed, size and athleticism for the position. No wonder 247Sports tabs him as the top tight end in its transfer rankings.

CB Trey Amos

Entered: Jan. 15 | New school: Ole Miss

Unlike the other defensive back transfers thus far, Amos actually played a rather significant role for Alabama in 2023 and was in line for a lot more playing time. He appeared in all 14 games with one start after transferring in from Louisiana and finished the year with 12 total tackles and five pass breakups. He could have used his final year of eligibility to push for a starting role with Alabama in 2024 but instead took his talents to an SEC rival in Ole Miss, which has spent this offseason absolutely loading up on transfer players.

DB Caleb Downs

Entered: Jan. 17 | New school: Ohio State

Arguably the most significant departure for Alabama, Downs is a rare breed. Starting as a true freshman at the collegiate level is a tall task. Doing so for a national title-caliber team in the SEC is virtually impossible. Yet Downs nabbed one of Alabama’s starting safety spots from Day 1 and flourished in the role, earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors after a stellar first season. He became the first freshman since 1970 to lead Alabama in tackles with 107 total stops. He also had two interceptions, five pass breakups and a forced fumble. Downs has all the makings of a superstar defender and future NFL Draft first-rounder.

OL Kadyn Proctor

Entered: Jan. 17 | New school: Iowa

Another freshman that made a huge contribution for Alabama in his first season, Proctor earned SEC All-Freshman honors after starting 13 games at left tackle for the Crimson Tide. He had his ups and downs and left things with a particularly brutal showing against Michigan in the Rose Bowl, but the expectation with Proctor — as with every offensive lineman — is that he will get better with each passing year. As a former top-five overall prospect and No. 1 offensive tackle out of high school, his potential is seemingly limitless.

CB Jameer Grimsley

Entered: Jan. 18 | New school: Florida

Grimsley never even really got to suit up for the Crimson Tide. He signed with Alabama in December and even went through bowl practices with the Tide ahead of their College Football Playoff foray before entering the portal a week after Alabama’s coaching change. He elected to return to his home state of Florida, where he signed with Alabama as a four-star athlete out of Tampa, and now gives the Gators a high-upside secondary addition with some positional versatility. At 6-foot-3, Grimsley could play safety but his background as a wide receiver better suits the skillset of an outside corner.

QB Julian Sayin

Entered: Jan. 19 | New school: Ohio State

Like Grimsley, Sayin signed with Alabama in December and went through bowl practices before transferring. A former five-star signal-caller out of Carlsbad, Sayin was named California’s Gatorade Player of the Year after throwing for 2,347 yards and 24 touchdowns with just one interception in 10 games as a senior. He was also named the MVP at the Elite 11 Finals, a summer competition that pits some of the nation’s best quarterback prospects against one another. Though he was the third-best quarterback in the class of 2024, 247Sports ranks him as the No. 1 transfer quarterback — above the likes of Washington State’s Cameron Ward and Duke’s Riley Leonard.

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Alabama

What to know about the Alabama man granted clemency two days before his execution

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

What to know about the Alabama man granted clemency two days before his execution

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday granted clemency to a man on death row who was scheduled to be executed Thursday even though he did not personally kill anyone.

Ivey commuted Charles “Sonny” Burton’s death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton, 75, was convicted of capital murder for the shooting death of Doug Battle during a 1991 robbery. Another man, Derrick DeBruce, shot Battle after Burton had left the building.

The 1991 murder and legal proceedings

The shooting occurred Aug. 16, 1991, during a robbery at an AutoZone auto parts store in Talladega. Doug Battle, a 34-year-old Army veteran and father of four, was shot and killed after entering the store during the robbery.

Before they went inside, Burton said if anyone caused trouble in the store that he would “take care of it,” according to testimony.

As the robbery was ending, Battle entered the store. He threw his wallet down, got onto the floor and exchanged words with DeBruce. LaJuan McCants, who was 16 at the time, testified that Burton and others had left the store before DeBruce shot Battle in the back.

A jury convicted DeBruce and Burton of capital murder and both were sentenced to death. During closing arguments, a prosecutor argued Burton was “just as guilty as Derrick DeBruce, because he’s there to aid and assist him.” Prosecutors pointed to the statement about handling trouble as evidence that Burton was the robbery leader. Burton’s attorneys have disputed that he was the leader.

DeBruce had his death sentence overturned on appeal after a court agreed that he had ineffective counsel. DeBruce was resentenced to life imprisonment and later died in prison.

Ivey’s reasons for granting clemency

Ivey said she “cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton” when the triggerman had his sentence reduced to life imprisonment.

“I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not,” Ivey said in a statement. “To be clear, Mr. Burton will not be eligible for parole and will rightfully spend the remainder of his life behind bars for his role in the robbery that led to the murder of Doug Battle. He will now receive the same punishment as the triggerman.”

It is only the second time the Republican governor, who has presided over 25 executions, has granted clemency to a person on death row.

“The murder of Doug Battle was a senseless and tragic crime, and this decision does not diminish the profound loss felt by the Battle family. I pray that they may find peace and closure,” Ivey said.

A mix of praise and criticism

The governor’s decision drew a mix of praise and criticism.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was “deeply disappointed” in the action and said he believes Burton’s execution should have gone forward. Marshall said Burton organized the armed robbery that led to Battle’s death. He said “longstanding Alabama law recognizes accomplice liability, as has every judge that has touched this case over three decades.”

“There has never been any doubt that Sonny Burton has Douglas Battle’s blood on his hands,” Marshall said.

Alice Marie Johnson, whom President Donald Trump had tapped last year as his “pardon czar,” praised Ivey. She said the governor “showed what courageous and common sense leadership looks like.”

“By commuting the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, she ensured that justice — not technicalities — guides the most serious decision a state can make,” Johnson wrote on social media.

Other Republican governors have granted clemency where there were concerns the person scheduled to be executed was the less culpable defendant. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt last year commuted the sentence of Tremane Wood to life, matching the sentence of his brother who confessed to the murder.

What happens next

Burton will be moved off of Alabama’s death row, where he has been imprisoned since 1992. However, it is unclear when that will happen. A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Corrections did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Burton will spend the rest of his life in prison since he doesn’t have the possibility of parole.

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Alabama

New Alabama football coach Adrian Klemm faces massive task | Goodbread

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New Alabama football coach Adrian Klemm faces massive task | Goodbread

Adrian Klemm, meet the challenge of a career.

Alabama football’s first-year offensive line coach is one of three new faces at Kalen DeBoer’s conference table. And, next year, history says there might be three more. At the major college level, heavy turnover among assistant coaches is business as usual. But make no mistake; Klemm was DeBoer’s most important hire of the offseason. He might well be the most important hire DeBoer has made in his 26 months on the job.

That’s the magnitude of the mess that Alabama’s 2025 offensive line left behind.

The Crimson Tide’s 2025 rushing attack was an insult to the word attack. It was more like a rushing surrender; ranked 123rd out of 134 FBS teams, and 15th of 16 SEC teams, at 104.1 yards per game. Rock bottom came in the SEC Championship Game, when Georgia sent it backward for minus-3 yards. It’s frankly remarkable that quarterback Ty Simpson assembled a 28-5 TD-INT ratio, as a first-year starter no less, with virtually zero help from a ground game. And while we’re on the subject of the passing game, Simpson wasn’t very well-protected, either. At 2.13 sacks allowed per game, UA ranked 90th in the country.

If Klemm even bothered to watch film of last year’s offensive line, he had to do it with one eye closed.

UA tried all sorts of combinations up front, looking for a solution to what was plainly its biggest problem. In 45 years paying attention to college football, I never saw so many substitutions on an offensive line as Alabama made in 2025. Backups got every chance that could have asked for. On one hand, it was understandable that now-fired offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic refused to stay with a failing five all season.

But it also smacked of desperation.

In the end, it was clear that no combination was effective; the first-team unit Kapilovic finally settled on late in the season was the one that got manhandled by Georgia in Atlanta.

It was a shock to the system for Alabama fans, who know what a dominant run game looks like whether they’re young or old. Jam Miller led Alabama with 504 rushing yards on the season; former UA star Derrick Henry once ran for 557 in a three-game stretch against Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State.

Miller, of course, is no Henry. But the gap between those two is no bigger than the gap between Henry’s 2015 offensive line and the disastrous line that took the field a decade later.

Klemm is tasked with turning that mess around in a single offseason, with only one returning part-time starter in sophomore Michael Carroll, a promising cornerstone to be sure. But an offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link, and Klemm must find four links to line up beside Carroll. A collection of returning backups, transfers and incoming freshmen have a lot of improvements to make, along with a strong impression on a new position coach.

With spring practice underway, that process has begun in earnest.

And Klemm faces a taller task than any assistant on the practice field.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.

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Alabama

Mother who reported AL toddler missing now faces murder charge

Published

2 days ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Mother who reported AL toddler missing now faces murder charge

The mother of an Enterprise toddler, reported missing Feb. 16, has been charged with capital murder, said Police Chief Michael Moore.

Adrienne Reid, mother of Genesis Nova Reid, reported her daughter as missing to authorities and said the two-year-old was not in the home and the door was open. On March 9, she was charged with capital murder of a child under the age of 14 and abuse of a corpse, Moore said. March 9 would have been Genesis’ birthday, he said. Adrienne Reid had previously been charged with filing a false report about her daughter’s disappearance.

She is being held without bond, Moore said. Adrienne Reid could not be reached for comment and court records do not show if she has an attorney.

The case shocked Enterprise and southeast Alabama. Hundreds of volunteers searched for her, and people were asked to wear pink to honor her.

Early on in the investigation neighbors told law enforcement that they hadn’t seen the child for several weeks.

Moore said evidence points to the capital murder charge even though Genesis’ body has not been found. The last time she was seen was Christmas night while visiting family in Dothan, Moore said. Video footage at the apartment complex where they lived showed Adrienne Reid about 11:30 p.m. Christmas night pulling a rolling duffle bag to a dumpster at the complex, and throwing the duffle bag inside, he said.

Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd said his office began the process of planning to search the landfill early in the investigation. The landfill covers 100 acres. He said the area where the contents of the dumpster that allegedly contained Genesis’ body was likely dumped has been narrowed down to an area covering a few hundred feet.

Active searches will begin soon, he said. District Attorney James Tarbox said the state will be seeking the death penalty.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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