Alabama
4-Star CB Zyan Gibson Denounces Decommitment Rumors, Pledges to Stick with Crimson Tide
UPDATE — Zyan Gibson took to social media to dispute initial reports of his decommitment.
His statement read, “Earlier today, a post was shared about my decommitment. I want to clarify that this message was the result of a miscommunication. I’m standing by my pledge I made to Bama. I will be signing with Bama on Dec. 3rd. At this point I will not be doing any interviews. Roll Tide.”
Earlier today, a post was shared about my decommitment. I want to clarify that this message was the result of a miscommunication. I’m standing by my pledge I made to Bama. I will be signing with Bama on Dec. 3rd. At this point I will not be doing any interviews. Roll Tide!!
— Zyan “z7evenn” Gibson (@ZyanGibson) December 1, 2025
After a strong weekend on the recruiting trail, consisting of two new commitments for the 2026 class, Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide staff received a bit of bad news late Sunday night.
4-Star cornerback Zyan Gibson, an in-state prospect from Gadsden, Alabama, officially announced his decommitment from the Tide on November 30, according to Hayes Fawcett of Rivals. Gibson was Alabama’s earliest commit of the class, originally making his decision in December of 2024.
🚨BREAKING🚨 4-star CB Zyan Gibson has decommitted from Alabama, @Hayesfawcett3 reports.
Read: https://t.co/DmUvw7qZRc pic.twitter.com/oJi3KLTepW
— Rivals (@Rivals) December 1, 2025
Prior to his original commitment, Gibson held offers from the likes of Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and many more. He took visits to both Tennessee and Ole Miss in June of this year, but has since made four return trips to Tuscaloosa this fall.
The 4-Star prospect had been expected to be a member of Alabama’s early signing group, but will now likely be making his pledge elsewhere. While it is unclear yet where Gibson is expected to commit, Tennessee is his second most visited school behind Alabama, so early indicators point to the Volunteers as a potential landing spot.
The Alabama native is a somewhat undersized prospect compared to what Alabama has recently targeted at the position as he stands just 6-foot, 174 lbs. Despite his smaller stature, Gibson is a speedy cornerback that is sticky in coverage.
He is ranked as the No. 5 player at his position in the nation, and the No. 4 player in the state, according to 247Sports’ composite ranking.
Although it is certainly a loss for the class, missing out on such a high caliber talent, Alabama still holds commitments from three other defensive backs, all of which are more in line with the body type that the current Crimson Tide staff has targeted since taking over.
- CB Zyan Gibson, 6-foot, 174. lbs. – Gadsden, Alabama (Committed 12/24/2024)
- CB Jorden Edmonds, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 03/26/2025)
- EDGE Jamarion Matthews, 6-foot-2, 240 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 02/21/2025)
- EDGE Kamhariyan Johnson, 6-foot-4, 260 lbs. – Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Committed 04/12/2025)
- OL Chris Booker, 6-foot-4, 285 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 02/20/2025)
- QB Jett Thomalla, 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. – Omaha, Nebraska (Committed 06/17/2025)
- DL JJ Finch, 6-foot-3, 260 lbs. – Indianapolis, Indiana (Committed 06/22/2025)
- RB Javari Barnett, 5-foot-11, 205 lbs. – Tampa Bay, Florida (Committed 06/23/2025)
- S Rihyael Kelley, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Committed 06/23/2025)
- SN Eli Deutsch, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Franklin, Wisconsin (Committed 06/24/2025)
- RB Ezavier Crowell, 5-foot-10, 210 lbs. – Jackson, Alabama (Committed 06/26/2025)
- TE Mack Sutter, 6-foot-5, 230 lbs. – Dunlap, Illinois (Committed 06/26/2025)
- LB Zay Hall, 6-foot-2, 222 lbs. – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Committed 06/27/2025)
- LB Xavier Griffin, 6-foot-3, 200 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 06/29/2025)
- WR Owen Cabell, 6-foot-2, 201 lbs. – Nashville, Tennessee (Committed 06/30/2025)
- WR Brian Williams, Jr., 6-foot-4, 185 lbs. – Lake Mary, Florida (Committed 07/01/2025)
- WR Cederian Morgan, 6-foot-4, 220 lbs – Alexander City, Alabama (Committed 07/02/2025)
- DL Nolan Wilson, 6-foot-4, 250 lbs. – Picayune, Mississippi (Committed 07/04/2025)
- S Jireh Edwards, 6-foot-2, 210 lbs. – Baltimore, Maryland (Committed 07/05/2025)
- QB Tayden Kaawa, 6-foot-5, 235 lbs. – Orem, Utah (Committed 07/22/2025)
- OT Bear Fretwell, 6-foot-6, 295 lbs. – Brooklet, Georgia (Committed 07/25/25)
- OT Jared Doughty, 6-foot-5, 300 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 10/05/2025)
- EDGE Corey Howard, 6-foot-6, 245 lbs. – Valdosta, Georgia (Committed 10/19/2025)
- OL Tyrell Miller, 6-foot-5, 305 lbs. – College of San Mateo (Committed 11/29/2025)
- TE Jude Cascone, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 11/30/2025)
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.
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.
BREWTON, Ala. — A 46-year-old woman is charged with the murder of a 27-year-old woman in Brewton, Alabama.
Deputies arrested Renotta Seltzer on Friday. She was booked into the Escambia County Jail in Alabama around 4:15 p.m. She’s being held without bond.
The shooting happened Friday on McGougin Road.
The victim is 27-year-old Anna Brown.
Sheriff Heath Jackson tells WEAR News that the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The sheriff’s office is expected to release more details on Monday.
Stick with WEAR News on-air and online for more updates on this story.
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