Alabama
2024 NFL Draft: Alabama LB Dallas Turner, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, declares after Rose Bowl loss
Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner declared for the 2024 NFL Draft following the Crimson Tide’s College Football Playoff semifinal loss at the Rose Bowl to Michigan. Turner, a projected first-round pick, is ranked by CBS Sports as the No. 10 overall draft prospect and checks in at No. 3 among edge rusher prospects.
Turner had three tackles, including a sack, during Alabama’s 27-20 overtime loss to the Wolverines. He finished the 2023 campaign with 50 total tackles, nine sacks and a pair of forced fumbles, all of which were career highs. His strong 2023 campaign earned him a number of accolades, notably consensus All-America and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. For his three-year career in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Turner registered 117 total tackles, 21.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
He’ll now look to build off that momentum in pursuit of a successful NFL career.
Turner’s draft stock
Although Turner ranks third among 2024 NFL Draft prospects at his specific position, that may as well be splitting hairs. The two higher-ranked edge rushers — UCLA’s Laiatu Latu and Florida State’s Jared Verse — are directly ahead of him and No. 8 and No. 9 overall in the draft prospect rankings, respectively. In other words, Turner is clearly in the upper echelon within his position group, no matter how you cut it.
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso projected the Houston Texans to use the No. 27 overall pick — traded from the Cleveland Browns — on Turner, and that draft position speaks more to team needs than it does Turner’s sheer talent.
“Let’s get Turner and [former Alabama edge rusher] Will Anderson back together again, this time in Houston,” Trapasso wrote. “Turner has all the talent in the world and put it all together in a marvelous 2023 season for the Crimson Tide.”
Wherever Turner lands, experience shouldn’t be an issue as he played heavily across each of his three seasons at Alabama. The 6-foot-4, 242-pound linebacker appeared in all 15 games for the Crimson Tide as a freshman, including a trio of starts, as Alabama reached the College Football Playoff National Championship before losing to Georgia. Turner then started 10 games in 2022 before peaking as a full-time starter in 2023. It shouldn’t take long for him to cause headaches for opposing quarterbacks in the NFL.
What it means for Alabama
Talent acquisition is rarely, if ever, an issue for the Crimson Tide, but there’s no denying that Alabama will miss Turner’s veteran presence from its pass rush in 2024. Candidly, who wouldn’t when a talent that is named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year subsequently departs? With linebacker Chris Braswell — second in sacks for Alabama this season (8) — also likely bound for the NFL Draft, it’s a position that will require the Crimson Tide to do some maturing in 2024.
As of this exact moment, Jihaad Campbell, Deontae Lawson and Trezmen Marshall — all had at least 55 tackles in 2023 — are names Alabama’s linebacker room can expect to have present next season. Of course, it’s difficult to project any team’s 2024 roster at this point given how much attrition is still possible between draft declarations and the transfer portal.
On that note, it’d be no shock if Saban and his staff end up going to the portal in the coming months to bolster their depth at linebacker, among other positions. Such is par for the course in this era of college football if teams want to compete with the best. On the recruiting trail, the Crimson Tide’s 2024 signing class includes edge rushers Sterling Dixon and Jayshawn Ross, both of whom are considered top-20 edge rushers nationally in the class, according to 247Sports.
The outlook will become far more clear once spring football arrives. But what is certain for now is that Alabama is losing one of its most imposing players across both sides of the ball.
Alabama
Alabama-Texas A&M free livestream: How to watch SEC basketball game, TV, schedule
The No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide play against the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies in an SEC basketball game tonight. The matchup will begin at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
The Crimson Tide enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won seven consecutive games. In their most recent game, the Crimson Tide defeated South Carolina 88-68.
During the victory, Alabama’s star guard Mark Sears scored 22 points and shot 7-12 from the field. He also shot 4-6 from beyond the arc, so he will try to perform similarly this evening.
The Aggies also enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won nine games in a row. The team has a 4-0 record against ranked opponents.
In their most recent game, the Aggies defeated Oklahoma 80-78. During the victory, Zhuric Phelps led the Texas A&M offense. He scored 34 points and shot 6-10 from three-point range, so he will try to continue his great play tonight.
Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
Alabama
Alabama-based content creator reacts to possible TikTok ban
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Some social media users are bracing for a possible ban on the popular social media app TikTok.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to ban the social media platform by Jan. 19 if the Chinese-owned company does not sell the platform due to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
It’s a dilemma between free speech and national security.
“Many of the content creators on TikTok are Americans, so they are protected under the First Amendment, and it was also argued that TikTok could be seen as a public forum, and Americans have freedom of speech in a public forum,” Troy University Assistant Professor of journalism and communications Dr. Stefanie East said.
Montgomery-raised content creator Funmi Ford says this ban could affect many Americans financially, not only content creators, but also small business owners.
“There are entrepreneurs that have used TikTok not only to get income but to get new clients,” Ford said. “There’s so many people that use this app to feed their families that I think it’s going to be really hard for them.”
TikTok has provided Ford with a way to share her culture from Accra Ghana and interact with other cultures. She fears without this social media platform, it may be more difficult to make those global connections.
“I feel like TikTok is one of the few places, because it’s video and it’s short form, you got to digest a lot of information, whether good or bad, that either widened your horizon, made you think differently, made you want to travel,” said Ford. “So with it possibly being banned, which we hope it’s not, it’s going to close a window to somebody else’s life, a window to another part of the world that you would not see otherwise.”
TikTok, as well as some of its users, have sued to block the U.S. ban contending that it violates First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court is now faced with the decision between those claims and Congress’ concern the Chinese government may have influence over the social media platform.
President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief at the Supreme Court asking justices to temporarily block the law so he can “pursue a political resolution” once he takes office.
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Alabama
SEC regular season conference winner odds for Auburn and Alabama basketball
The SEC has taken the men’s college basketball world by storm this season. When this week began, the SEC had nine teams in The Associated Press top 25, including six in the top 10.
Auburn and Alabama are in the top 10 and making their marks as favorites to win the national championship. Before they cut down the nets in the Final Four, they will try to win a conference championship.
The SEC regular season conference winner odds for Auburn and Alabama show a pair of teams expected to be there at the end. That’s what we are examining today.
Note: Odds are based on the best value our experts find as of publication; check lines closer to game time to ensure you get the best odds.
SEC regular season conference winner odds
These are the odds for each team to win the SEC regular season men’s basketball conference title from BetMGM Sportsbook:
Team | BetMGM odds to win SEC regular season |
---|---|
Auburn | -115 |
Alabama | +450 |
Tennessee | +500 |
Florida | +800 |
Kentucky | +1800 |
Mississippi State | +2000 |
Texas A&M | +2000 |
Ole Miss | +5000 |
Arkansas | 100-to-1 |
Georgia | 125-to-1 |
Oklahoma | 125-to-1 |
Texas | 125-to-1 |
Missouri | 200-to-1 |
Vanderbilt | 200-to-1 |
LSU | 250-to-1 |
South Carolina | 250-to-1 |
The top five teams in this betting odds market rank in the top eight in this week’s AP poll. The next two are not far behind at Nos. 10 and 14. After that, the odds drop significantly, but even Ole Miss is a top-25 team.
Don’t nitpick about how the odds and rankings compare. Tennessee entered this week undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation but lost to Florida on the road by 30 points. With so much parity in college basketball, the regular season is more of a survival challenge than an expectation to win every game.
Auburn and Alabama were among the favorites to win the regular season title when the season began and both teams have played well thus far. They’ll be favorites if they win a large majority of their games and beat a couple of fellow contenders along the way.
Auburn SEC championship odds
Sportsbook | SEC championship odds |
---|---|
BetMGM | -115 |
FanDuel | -130 |
DraftKings | -105 |
No. 2-ranked Auburn (14-1) has lit the court on fire throughout its 14-1 start, including marquee wins over Houston, North Carolina, Iowa State and Purdue. The Tigers’ only loss came on the road against Duke.
The biggest spark has been forward Johni Broome, who averages 18.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks. His performance has catapulted him to the top of the Wooden Award odds listed by DraftKings Sportsbook. Broome has odds of -280 while Duke’s Cooper Flagg is at +230. No other player has odds better than 16-to-1.
Broome is the MVP, but five other Auburn players average at least 10 points per game. That’s an incredible feat in this day of college basketball.
The Tigers rank fourth in the nation in points per game with 87.9. They rank first in blocks per game with 6.9 and 26th in shooting percentage allowed at 39.2%
Auburn hits the road to play South Carolina on Saturday before returning home to face No. 14 Mississippi State on Tuesday. A home game against Tennessee looms Jan. 25.
Alabama SEC championship odds
Sportsbook | SEC Championship odds |
---|---|
BetMGM | +450 |
FanDuel | +380 |
DraftKings | +550 |
No. 5 Alabama (13-2) has had an incredible season with the only blemishes being losses to Oregon and Purdue. The Crimson Tide have big wins over Illinois, Houston, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
The whole SEC schedule will be tough, but the next three games especially stand out for Alabama. The Tide play Texas A&M on the road, Ole Miss at home and Kentucky on the road.
Like Auburn, Alabama has balanced scoring at the top. Five players average double figures, led by Mark Sears’ 18.3 points. Fellow returner Grant Nelson has been pivotal, too. He averages 13.1 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds.
If Alabama is going to win the regular season title, it will have to earn it over the final handful of games. The Tide’s final five games are against Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn.
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