Alabama

Alabama collects receipts and displays accountability at SEC Media Days 2025

Published

8 months ago

July 16, 2025

Alabama collects receipts and displays accountability at SEC Media Days 2025

The kickoff to the upcoming SEC season begins where it will end in December, though the SEC Championship Game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Before toe meets leather to kick off the 2025 slate of football game, players and coaches meet with the media to talk about what lies ahead. Each day, AL.com will provide a daily recap from each day with key moments and interesting nuggets of information you might have missed.

Elephants (and Alabama) never forget…

Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos lit a fuse earlier this summer as saying that “they don’t have Nick Saban to save them”. That sparked anger and fired up current and former Crimson Tide players, well ahead of the Alabama season opener at Florida State.

For the first time since those comments, members of the Alabama football team had to address them with the media present at media days. Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan authored a short, but direct response to the FSU transfer QB’s comments saying, “the disrespect will be addressed”.

Tide linebacker Deontae Lawson also chimed in saying, “all disrespect will be addressed accordingly”.

It remains pretty clear that Alabama has taken Castellanos’ words personally, and any backfield interactions in Week 1 might have a bit more spice to them.

DeBoer talks Alabama standard

It was his first year on the job at Alabama, and despite the nine-win season, Kalen DeBoer knows better.

While taking the main stage at inside the College Football Hall of Fame, Alabama’s head coach addressed the fact that there is a standard at Alabama, of success, in winning bowl games and ultimately, competing for championships. Something they didn’t do last season with a 9-4 record. Something DeBoer put bluntly while talking with the media.

“If you internally ask us, no,” DeBoer said. “We fell short of making the playoffs. It’s as simple as that, right? Giving yourself a chance to go compete for a championship. I think there’s a lot of things that I’m super proud of that have happened within the program that are part of the progression. Yeah, we want it right now, too.”

The “Alabama standard” has been established, officially. It’s now up to DeBoer, the staff and the players to live up to it over 12 weeks in the fall.

Auburn getting some preseason love from who?!

Throughout the lead up to media days, pundits, experts and armchair experts like to make their picks for who may surprise in a certain league or division.

Usually, it’s a team that finished in the middle and or lower half the previous season. A perfect spot for a team like Auburn to be discussed, right? Correct. That’s not the surprise; it is the person who delivered said surprise.

While handicapping the SEC title contenders, former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy tabbed the Auburn Tigers as his sleeper pick, noting their potential with the weapons on offense and talented defense.

Oklahoma shows love to Arnold

The realities of the transfer portal mean that the bonds you create with teammates may last a year, two years, and if you’re lucky it goes throughout your entire college career.

For former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold, his time with the OU program lasted two seasons (2023-24) before transferring to Auburn this past spring. When Oklahoma took their place in front of the media, Sooners head coach Brent Venables and the players discussed Jackson at length.

Venables talked about how Arnold handled tough moments and went as far as saying he wanted to keep the new Auburn signal-caller.

When asked about Arnold, former teammate Robert Spears-Jennings remarked about the positive attitude, and R Mason Thomas lauded his professionalism when faced with adversity last season.

Oklahoma and Auburn meet again, this time in Norman, OK on Sept. 20.

Jordan Rodgers gets flashbacks

Being a football player means you’re going to have some hits you don’t remember. Then you have some that you absolutely, positively never forget, and think about so much you wake up in a cold sweat years later.

He may have not woken up in a cold sweat, but it was clear that Jordan Rodgers remembers when he and Mark Barron met when the former Vanderbilt quarterback played Alabama in 2011.

What to watch on Thursday

Thursday in Atlanta is the final day of SEC Media Days 2025. The teams that will take the stage are Kentucky, Missouri, Texas A&M, and Arkansas.

Two schools who are looking to make a breakthrough into the playoff (Missouri, Texas A&M) and two schools with coaches who may need a big season, to return to media days next year in 2026 (Arkansas and Kentucky).

Along with those teams hitting the stage, the preseason predictions for the order of finish and All-SEC preseason teams will be announced soon after. And the only thing left after that is the opening of fall camps, then the season.

Football in the south is on the horizon, just a few more weeks.

Click the following links for recaps from Monday and Tuesday at SEC Media Days. For more on SEC Media Days, visit AL.com for the latest from Atlanta.

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Alabama

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

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.

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Alabama

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey was honored for her lifelong dedication to youth and community service during the 12th annual Black Warrior Council Boy Scouts of America Circle of Honor awards luncheon.

The ceremony, which was held Feb. 27 at the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa, serves as a fundraiser for the council’s scouting program.

The Circle of Honor award is presented to people in west central Alabama whose livelihood and actions reflect the same values of the Black Warrior Boy Scouts. Recipients have also shown advocacy for youth and leadership in the community.

Past recipients of the award include Terry Saban, Nick Saban, former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, scientist and philanthropist Thomas Joiner, pharmacist and retailer James I. Harrison Jr., civic leader Mary Ann Phelps and more.

Cathy Randall, a Tuscaloosa businesswoman, educator and philanthropist, presented Ivey with the award. Randall was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2025 along with her late husband, Pettus.

Ivey said she was grateful to receive the honor by the Black Warrior Council and highlighted the importance of public service.

“I’m proud to have dedicated my life to public service, there’s no more noble calling than to uplift and empower lives,” said Ivey during the Feb. 27 ceremony.

Ivey thanked the scouting organizations, including the Black Warrior Council for its contributions to educational opportunities, economic development, and public safety.

“In particular, I’m proud of the work done by our Scouting organizations like the Black Warrior Council, who lay a foundation for successful future in both our young people and our state, thank you for all you do to build a stronger Alabama by changing lives and preparing our future leaders,” said Ivey, a native of Camden in Wilcox County.

Ivey is wrapping up her second term as governor after a long career spent primarily in government.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, Ivey worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as reading clerk for the Alabama House of Representatives under then-Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and she served as assistant director at the Alabama Development Office.

In 2002, Ivey was elected to the first of two terms as Alabama’s treasurer and in 2010, she was elected to the first of two terms as lieutenant governor. On April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th governor after the resignation of Robert Bentley. She filled out the rest of Bentley’s term before winning the gubernatorial election in 2018 and she was re-elected in 2022.

She will leave office at the end of this year.

She is the first Republican woman to serve as Alabama’s governor but she’s the second woman to hold the state’s top executive office. Tuscaloosa County native Lurleen B. Wallace, a Democrat, became Alabama’s first female governor in 1966.

Circle of Honor luncheon raises nearly $200,000

Also during the ceremony, retired DCH Health System administrator Sammy Watson, who served as the event’s emcee, announced that the council had raised $197,000 through the luncheon that day.

Proceeds from the lunch will be used to expand Boy Scouts programs, making them available to over 3,000 young people in west central Alabama.

The Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s leading outdoor education and character development program. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@usatodayco.com. To support her work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.

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Alabama

Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. steps down after 13 years on the bench

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. steps down after 13 years on the bench

SELMA, Ala. (WSFA) – After more than a decade serving Alabama’s fourth judicial circuit, Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. is stepping away from full-time service, closing a chapter that spans nearly four decades in the legal profession.

Pettaway was elected to the bench in 2012 and served in several counties including Dallas, Wilcox, Perry, Hale and Bibb counties, the largest geographical circuit in the state.

Now, he says, it was simply time.

“I never wanted to serve in that capacity forever,” Pettaway said “And plus, I wanted to also make room for some younger, brighter minds to come forward.”

Before becoming a judge, Pettaway practiced law in Selma for nearly 30 years after being licensed in 1985. During that time, he handled cases that helped shape Alabama law; something he says he didn’t fully appreciate until colleagues reflected on his impact.

“I handled several cases which actually affected and changed the direction of the state of the law in our state,” he added. “And I didn’t realize I did all that.”

Friends and fellow legal professionals once presented him with research showing his involvement in Alabama Supreme Court cases that made significant changes in state law; a moment he describes as both surprising and humbling.

During his time on the bench, Pettaway says one of his priorities was maintaining professionalism and respect within the legal system.

He often referenced the Alabama State Bar’s Lawyer’s Creed — a pledge attorneys take promising to treat even their opponents with civility and understanding.

“In that creed, you are promising that you’re gonna treat even your opponents with civility and with kindness and understanding.”

Pettaway says he believes the legal profession — and society at large — must continue working toward a culture rooted in respect and service.

Although stepping away from full-time duties, Pettaway says he is not completely leaving the legal field. He has transitioned to retired active status and plans to assist with cases when needed, while also returning to private practice.

He says this new chapter is about balance.

After decades shaping courtrooms across five counties, Pettaway says he is focused on health, perspective and trusting the next generation to carry the bench forward.

Governor Kay Ivey has appointed former Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jones to serve the remainder of Pettaway’s six-year term.

Jones previously served as senior chief trial attorney under District Attorney Robert Turner Jr. and has also led the Fourth Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force.

The transition marks a new era for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, while closing a significant chapter in its recent history.

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