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Alabama Football 2024 Preview: What you need to know about the USF Bulls’ offense

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Alabama Football 2024 Preview: What you need to know about the USF Bulls’ offense


One year ago, the USF Bulls were coming off of a 3-year stretch of being one of the worst teams in all of college football (you can thank Dabo for sending them Jeff Scott) and they had just hired Alex Golesh, the offensive coordinator at Tennessee who had the Vols and Hendon Hooker being all the rage in college football.

We didn’t totally know what to expect, but the Bulls were expected to improve on offense, at least. A few games into the season, and they took on Alabama, giving the Tide one of the most frustrating games of Nick Saban’s career. Except, for some reason, it was because the Bulls kept Alabama’s offense in check, not because their offense ran wild.

Whatever the case, the game seemed to be both a springboard and a fluke for them, as their defense was generally bad in 2023, but they turned into one of the better offenses in the country and racked up 7 wins ( a big deal when you won less than two for three straight years).

in 2024, much of the same offense returns. This is what I wrote about their scheme last year, and much of it remains true:

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As a Heupel disciple, the offensive scheme is one that Alabama fans are now familiar with: the wide receivers will be lined up WIDE, and the ball will often be snapped within 10 seconds of the previous play ending. It’s an offense predicated on very little mental work from the QB, but more of a stand-up-and-throw it kind of thing that relies on slants, screens, and the occasional go-ball for most of the passing game.

So far, though, it’s not been too effective through the air. First year starter QB Byrum Brown is sitting at 51.5% completion rate, a paltry 5.3 yards per attempt, and 2 interceptions to 4 TDs. Receiver Sean Atkins is the only returning pass catcher from last year’s team, and small slot guy is Brown’s favorite target. Khafre Brown (transfer from UNC) also caught an 80-yard go ball in the season opener, so he leads the team with 109 yards.

The rushing game, on the other hand, has been much more of the focus for Golesh. Transfer Nay’Quan Wright played on and off for the Florida Gators the last four years, and now takes over as the lead back, rushing 17 times for 111 yards against WKU in the opener.

Meanwhile, Michel Dukes was a transfer from Clemson a couple of years ago that got 62 touches for the Bulls last year and looks to be building on that role this year. He’s got 21 carries for 104 yards so far. Both backs are averaging over 5 yards per carry through two games. The USF offense is built to spread a defense out as wide as possible and have them open up running lanes between the tackle/guard or just off tackle with TE’s coming across the formation as a lead blocker.

And, of course, Byrum Brown is really the centerpiece of the rushing attack. There’s plenty of designed QB draws, and USF has 0 issues calling a speed option play on 3rd and long. Brown is lanky and quick. He’s not going to break many tackles, but he can gobble up open yards in a hurry. He leads the team with 183 rushing yards.

Byrum Brown really turned things on as the season progressed last year, completing 65% of his passes for 3300 yards and 26 TDs to only 11 picks, while also leading the team with 809 rushing yards and 11 more TDs on the ground. He’s as dynamic of a runner as you’ll find at QB in college football, and he’s steadily improving as a passer. Slot receiver Sean Atkins also returns as a his main target from a year ago, and the diminutive receiving threat is a Biletnikoff Watch list and First Team All-AAC preseason guy who looks poised to really build on his 1000 yards from last year.

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Running back Nay’quan Wright (the guy who trucked Caleb Downs last year) returns as well as a former SEC running back that can really do some damage on the ground.

Overall, it’s a fast, dynamic offense that takes some parts of the Tennessee/Huepel offense – the wide splits and the ridiculously fast tempo – but incorporates more of a power running and QB option game out of those wide splits. Screens and deep shots make up the bulk of the passing game to stretch the defense as far from the middle as possible, then they’ll relentlessly run the ball at those vacated areas.

For Alabama’s new look “Swarm” defense, this will be something of a test to see how the new scheme fares against what is considered the up and coming current trend of college football offenses. Can the linebacker crew handle the QB run, or will they get caught vacating rush lanes? Can the new secondary effectively swarm to screen passes while still being wary of the vertical shots?

I think Alabama may do better against the QB scrambles than we’ve seen in years past, as the defensive coverage should be more focused on watching the QB than under Saban’s pattern-match coverages. But I do worry that the Bulls may be able to get some deep shots on them and score a few more points than we like.

I predict they will score 17 on the Alabama defense.

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Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama

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Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama


Jaxon Richardson, the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2026 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking, has committed to Alabama.

The 6-foot-6 four-star small forward out of Southeastern Prep (FL) ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over USC, Creighton, and Ole Miss. He also received offers from Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida, Villanova, and others.

Richardson, a McDonald’s All-American, becomes the Crimson Tide’s third commitment of the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star shooting guard Qayden Samuels (No. 28 NATL) and four-star small forward Tarris Bouie (No. 54 NATL).

He’s the son of NBA veteran and two-time NBA Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson. His older brother, Jase, played for Michigan State last season before being selected 25th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.

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Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw says Richardson is one of the most explosive players in the 2026 class:

Jaxon Richardson is able to combine fluid athleticism with explosive burst in a way no other player in this class can. He uses his athleticism to his advantage on the floor. He fills the outside channels with a purpose in transition, he is aggressive in the passing lanes, and he plays as a vertical floor spacer in the dunker spots and lob plays. Last summer, playing with the Florida Rebels on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 10.5 attempts per game. Last high school season, he averaged 12.9 points on 61.0 percent shooting on 8.9 attempts per game. He is a highly efficient player, as 84.4 percent of his makes last high school season were at the rim.



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Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets

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Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets


Alabama baseball cruised to a win over Alabama State on Wednesday night, beating the Hornets 13-4 to complete the season sweep. The Crimson Tide tied a program record with nine stolen bases in one of the stranger contests that will be played this season.

The tone was set for a tumultuous night on the basepaths in the opening minutes of the game. Leadoff batter Bryce Fowler, who exited Tuesday’s game after getting beaned in the head, was walked, and promptly took second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch in Justin Lebron’s at-bat, paving the way for Lebron to steal second when he was ultimately walked as well.

The successful baserunning instantly paid off, as Brady Neal drove both in with a double to left-center field before John Lemm walked two at-bats later. Both runners stole their respective bases on the same pitch in Jason Torres’ plate appearance, meaning that four of the first five batters of the game stole a base.

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Alabama has been exceptional on the basepaths, sitting at 30-for-30 on the season. Lebron, who swiped two bags on Wednesday, leads the team with 12. The junior had an up-and-down night, hitting his eighth home run of the season, but also committing an error at shortstop for the fourth consecutive game.

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“Get those things out of there now, baby. The dude is unbelievable,” an unconcerned Rob Vaughn said on Tuesday of Lebron’s errors. “We’re going to look up at the end of the year, and that guy is going to have five or six errors, which one he’s got right now, and we’ll be like, ‘Man, that guy is the best of all time to do it.’”

Wednesday’s game was a very prototypical midweek contest with no shortage of quirks and oddities throughout its nearly four-hour runtime. Fifteen Alabama batters were walked, falling just one shy of the program record, and the hit by pitch record was tied as seven batters were plunked.

The game was never competitive from an on-field standpoint. After barely escaping with a 2-1 win in the first matchup with the Hornets two weeks ago, this was a far more accurate representation of what these games typically look like, as Alabama now leads the all-time series 15-0.

Freshman Joe Chiarodo made his first career start, allowing two hits and one walk over two scoreless innings. He was named the winning pitcher. Luke Smyers, Connor Lehman, Anthony Pesci and Tate Robertson were the other pitchers to take the mound. Lehman allowed a three-run blast in the sixth inning, and those were the only runs until the incredibly-named Skywalker Mann drove in a run off Robertson in the ninth.

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Perhaps the most shocking figure from the game was that Alabama had 19 runners left on base. The Crimson Tide left the bases loaded in four different innings. As stated, this was just a bizarre baseball game across the board. With the midweeks out of the way, the Crimson Tide gets to prepare for its final weekend tune-up before SEC play as North Florida heads into Tuscaloosa on Friday.



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New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten

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New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten


The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act was signed on Wednesday, March 4, by Governor Kay Ivey to introduce limits on children’s screen time access in Alabama.

The Act is one of Ivey’s 2026 legislative priorities.

“Video screen access in classrooms can boost learning skills among our young children, but too much screen exposure can also be detrimental, harming critical social and cognitive development,” Ivey said. “The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act ensures our youngest students are provided a healthy balance of screen time and traditional learning in order to protect social and emotional development.”

Under the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education will be required to work with the Department of Human Resources and the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for screen-based media.

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Guidelines will be implemented in early childhood education programs like day care centers, day care homes, night care facilities, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and group day care homes. The Act was sponsored by Representative Jeana Ross and Senator Donnie Chesteen.

“House Bill 78 establishes clear, research-based expectations for how technology is used in early childhood settings,” said Ross. “The goal is not to eliminate technology, but to ensure its use is developmentally appropriate and never replaces the hands-on learning and human interaction young children need most. By setting thoughtful guardrails and aligning classroom practices with the best available research on early brain development, this legislation supports educators, protects the quality of early learning and reinforces our commitment to giving Alabama’s youngest students the strongest possible start.”

A training program will also be created by the Department of Early Childhood Education to create a baseline for the appropriate use of child screentime for teachers and staff members supervising children.

“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act represents another important step in ensuring Alabama’s youngest children grow and learn in environments that prioritize human interaction, exploration and healthy development,” said Chesteen. “Building on the progress made with last year’s FOCUS Act, this legislation continues our commitment to protecting the most formative years of childhood. I am grateful to Governor Kay Ivey and my colleagues in the Legislature for recognizing the importance of this issue and working together to support Alabama families.”

The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will become effective on January 1, 2027.

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