Alabama
Alabama’s Football Welcomes ‘No Bad Days’ Speaker: Roll Call, August 6, 2024
Alabama’s tradition of getting prominent speakers to address the football team during fall call continued with head coach Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide welcoming Hunter Pinke. He was a tight end and team captain for North Dakota before breaking his back in a skiing accident in 2019. The spinal-cord injury left Pinke paralyzed from chest down. He was subsequently a member of Arizona’s wheelchair basketball team and is now a motivational speaker.
“I don’t actually know for fact that y’all are gonna win a national championship this year, but the direction has been set. It’s to be a champion everyday,” Pinke said in reference to the comparison between the two percent chance he walks again and the uncertainty of the future in anything, such as football.
No Bad Days. 🥛 pic.twitter.com/rOqvYXKh7i
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 5, 2024
DeBoer had Pinke, who has a ‘No Bad Days’ mantra, speak to his team last year at Washington. Former head coach Nick Saban was known for brining in speakers during fall camp and DeBoer wants to continue the custom.
“We will certainly have some guys. I think first year especially, It’s important to me to lay that culture, make sure it’s right where we want it,” DeBoer said during a recent post-practice press conference when asked about if guest speakers would be invited during his time in Tuscaloosa.
Former Alabama standout cornerback Terrion Arnold was being evaluated for a concussion after taking a big blow from opposing lineman, Andrew Thomas, during a joint practice between the Lions and Giants. Arnold was selected 24th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft by Detroit. He’s is vying for a starting corner position.
📢 You’ll want the sound up for this. 😱
You can feel the hit Giants LT Andrew Thomas puts on Lions rookie CB Terrion Arnold.
The kid stayed up, though. pic.twitter.com/0SpCPSNvGI
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) August 5, 2024
Incidentally, there were more than 10 fights during the joint practice. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said “I told them, man, like we always do, we’re competing. We’re not pulling back. But this will be evaluated like a game, so if you do something that’s going to cost us in a game that’s part of the evaluation.”
• Morgan Dennis Morris was named the new director of operations for the gymnastics program. The former Crimson Tide gymnast was the 2007 floor exercise national champion. Robin Kelley retired earlier this week after serving in the role for 20-plus years.
All-American and national champion as a @UA_Athletics gymnast? ☑️
Teammates with @ApriessJohnston when the program captured its sixth @SEC title? ☑️
Returning home as the program’s new Director of Operations? ☑️
Get to Re-Know Morgan Dennis Morris at the link below! — Alabama Gymnastics (@BamaGymnastics) August 5, 2024
• Former Alabama defensive lineman Braylen Ingraham, who transferred to Syracuse to give football another shot, suffered an Achilles tear that will likely end his playing career. “He will not be playing at Syracuse anymore,” head coach Fran Brown told reporters, adding that he hopes to get him into coaching after surgery. The injury didn’t happen during fall camp, with Brown only saying it happened “a while ago.”
• On August 4, former Alabama softball pitcher, Kayla Beaver, started her first game in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball League.
Kayla Beaver gets the start now on ESPN2!#RollTide https://t.co/SdL7dKY6yq
— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) August 4, 2024
• Former Alabama and Oklahoma quarterback, Jalen Hurts, was named ambassador for Global Flag Football.
Jalen Hurts lit the flame 🔥 at the LA Coliseum for the 2028 Olympics. Jalen is the Global Flag Football Ambassador. — John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 5, 2024
Flag football will be an official sport at LA28.
🎥 @NFL
pic.twitter.com/yn9URZJryy
• Former Alabama kicker Will Reichard drilled a 58-yard field goal in practice. Among the rookies especially he’s been the buzz of training camp with the Vikings.
Will Reichard from 58 pic.twitter.com/8F2cPHEZY5
— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) August 4, 2024
25 Days
August 6, 1968: Former Alabama running back Siran Stacy was born in Geneva, Ala.
August 6, 1986: On the opening day of practice, Coach Ray Perkins said his team was a top-five squad if it can overcome one of the nation’s most challenging schedules. ‘We play Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, Penn State, LSU and Auburn. That’s a real challenge,” Perkins said.
“I was down in Geneva, Alabama, at a place called ‘The Bottom.’ I saw it on black and white TV one Saturday morning. You had to twist the antenna just to get a signal. I saw a man standing under the goal post and a whole bunch of guys running on the field wearing red jerseys. That ignited a dream inside me. I said from that moment on, ‘I’m going to play for that man.’”
– Siran Stacy
Alabama
3 Alabama players who helped their draft stock at 2026 NFL combine
Each player had a pivotal role on the Crimson Tide in 2025.
Alabama had a multitude of former players who performed at an elite level at the NFL combine this past weekend.
Former Alabama star quarterback Ty Simpson was among those who put his talents on full display in Indianapolis, as Simpson continues to emerge as a top quarterback prospect available in April’s draft.
Numerous Crimson Tide stars on both sides of the football were able to have an excellent showing at the combine as well, with each playmaker a vital component to the Tide’s success in 2025.
Here are three Alabama players who helped their draft stock rise at the NFL combine.
Ty Simpson, Quarterback
Simpson is widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect available outside of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. The talented redshirt junior put on an absolute show at the NFL combine, as Simpson delivered multiple perfect throws and put his talents on full display throughout Saturday’s events.
The former Alabama star is a candidate to potentially shine day one in his campaign in the NFL, as Simpson’s draft stock continues to rise prior to April.
Jam Miller, Running Back
Miller is an extremely fast and athletic running back, despite struggling in the Tide’s backfield last season. The star running back recorded an impressive 4.43u 40-yard dash time, as Miller could very easily shine in the NFL next season with consistent playing time.
Miller was nothing short of elite throughout his entire performance at the combine in Indianapolis, as the former Tide running back continues to rise in a multitude of draft rankings around the football world.
Kadyn Proctor, Offensive Tackle
Proctor played a crucial role on Alabama’s offensive line last season. The star lineman reportedly slimmed down prior to the NFL combine, as Proctor displayed elite speed and athleticism throughout Sunday’s combine in Indianapolis.
Proctor is widely expected to be a mid-to-late first round selection in April, as the talented lineman’s efforts during the combine could quickly begin to work in Proctor’s favor during next month’s draft.
The 2026 NFL draft will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania starting on April 23, as each Crimson Tide star will look to shine throughout their rookie campaign in the NFL.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Alabama
Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child
A husband fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself at an Alabama hospital just moments after they welcomed their first child on Sunday.
Kynath Terry Jr., 19, gunned down 24-year-old Precious Johnson before fatally shooting himself inside the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night, WTVM 13 reported.
Johnson delivered a healthy baby just before she was murdered. It’s not immediately clear if the baby was present during the shooting, but police said that Terry and Johnson were the only ones injured.
Terry’s mother told the outlet that the couple were having some marital issues leading up to Johnson’s due date, but nothing that made her fear her son would become violent.
She told the outlet that Terry completed Army National Guard training before tying the knot with Johnson.
She noted that Johnson didn’t want Terry’s side of the family at the hospital for her child’s birth, but it’s unclear if anyone from the mother-to-be’s own family was there.
The hospital was plunged into a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” while police investigated reports of a shooting. It wasn’t lifted until hours later when they determined there was “no active threat to patients, team members or the public,” the outlet reported.
The Homewood Police Department described the tragedy as “an apparent murder-suicide and is domestic in nature.”
Danne Howard, the president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told the outlet that the chilling attack “was an isolated incident” unlike anything she’d encountered during her three decades working in the state.
Howard said, in the wake of the tragedy, the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital would undergo a security overhaul implementing “lessons learned” from a mandated after-action report.
Just three months ago, in a town six miles outside of Homewood, a beloved sports reporter was fatally shot by her husband before taking his own life. Their 3-year-old son, who was unharmed, led his grandfather to his parents’ bodies.
Alabama
Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran
Hegseth on Iran: ‘This is not Iraq. This is not endless.’
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said operations on Iran won’t be “endless” like Iraq.
The United States and Israel-led attacks on Iran are having an impact in Central Alabama.
The military actions that began Saturday targets the military forces of Iran and the nation’s ability to build nuclear weapons.
In Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex have stepped up security so that all entry points will have a 100 percent ID check, the bases said on social media. The Trusted Traveler Program is suspended, which allowed Department of Defense identification holders to vouch for passengers.
Visitors without base access will have to go through the visitor center to get a pass.
Central Alabama residents react to the Iran attacks
For Travis Jackson of Montgomery, the attacks bring back memories, bad memories. He served one tour in Iraq from 2007-2008 with the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the service and has worked the last 10 years as a community activist and diversity, equality and inclusion coordinator.
“I had a flashback of being overseas again,” he said when he first heard news of the attack. “The first thing I thought of was corporate greed. Of yet again seeing what has transpired throughout the years of any war overseas.”
He feels the attacks are a mistake.
“It’s going to be detrimental to the economy, notably with the increase in oil prices,” he said.
Removing the current regime in Iran and establishing a more western friendly country could improve hopes for a more stable Middle East, said Amy Stephens of Elmore County.
“I don’t know if there will ever be peace there,” Stephens said. “But Iran has been the causing trouble over there for almost 50 years.”
Ray Roberts of Prattville served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. He served in an ordinance company with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was a sergeant when he left the service and now works as a draftsman at a Montgomery manufacturing plant.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” Roberts said of the attacks. “President Trump had said they were coming. When he says something like that, he means it. I am glad we are working with Israel so it’s not just the United States. I wonder if Europe and some of the other Gulf nations will join the attacks.”
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
-
World6 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts7 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO6 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon5 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Florida3 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Maryland3 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Culture1 week agoTry This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies