Alabama
Alabama football ready to turn the page to 2025 season
Happy Thursday, everyone. We now know three of the four college football semifinalists as Penn State, Texas, and Ohio State have punched their tickets. Joining them will be either Notre Dame or Georgia who play today at 3pm CT on ESPN after being postponed due to the horrific murders on Bourbon Street. Alabama student Kareem Badawi was among the victims.
Alabama President Stuart R. Bell posted on social media, stating:
“I learned today that Kareem Badawi, one of our students at The University of Alabama, was killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans. I grieve alongside family and friends of Kareem in their heartbreaking loss. Our staff have been actively engaged in supportive outreach and the Office of Student Care and Well Being is available at 205-348-2461 or bamacares@ua.edu. Please take a moment to pray for those impacted by this tragedy.
Just an awful, senseless tragedy. May their families find peace.
Alabama fans are understandably ready to turn the page on the 2024 football season, and the excitement of QB prospect Keelon Russell is one way to do that. He will play in the Under Armour today on ESPN2, in the same time slot as the Sugar.
The top-ranked quarterback of the All-American Game, Alabama signee Keelon Russell is set for the showcase just before heading to Tuscaloosa for his freshman season.
Russell, the No. 2-ranked prospect and No. 2 quarterback of the 2025 class behind Michigan quarterback signee Bryce Underwood, has an outside chance at being Alabama’s quarterback next season, as the five-star recruit could potentially push Ty Simpson for the job (should Jalen Milroe not return for another season).
The Duncanville High School (Texas) product will take snaps for Team Icon on Thursday, throwing passes to his high school teammate Dakorien Moore, a fellow five-star recruit and Oregon signee.
Russell certainly doesn’t lack confidence.
“We all seen the offense they ran with Jalen Milroe and how it kind of fit him,” Russell said. The current Alabama starter did throw for 2,844 yards and 16 touchdowns this fall but also had 11 interceptions in a campaign that fell short of program expectations. “Jalen Milroe lacked on some things. He’s more of a physical quarterback. He wants to run the ball a lot.
“It’s different going from Jalen Milroe to Keelon Russell. You’re get an effing unit (in Milroe), a tank at the quarterback position to you know what I’m saying, I’m getting there. I’m a tank too but I’m not that tank. He’s got a lot of stuff to him. It’s different. The offense is going to kind of change. It’s going to be a little slower since it has to change now if he were to possibly leave to the draft.
“It’s going to have to change.”
There won’t be a spring camp battle with more intrigue than the Alabama QB competition this year.
Milroe and Tim Smith both seem optimistic about the 2025 team’s chances.
To Milroe, DeBoer and Sheridan are two reasons why he feels Alabama has a “bright future.”
“The people understand what needs to be done so we can be the best version of (ourselves),” Milroe said. “The standard that is here, the standard that is set. And we have a lot of great dudes in the locker room that’s hungry, that’s looking to get better, that’s looking to uphold the standard.”
Tim Smith didn’t have a message to Alabama fans after Tuesday’s loss. They are going to feel what they feel, the defensive lineman said.
Smith did have a message to his teammates before ending his Alabama career: continue to play to that Crimson Tide standard, something, he said, the players helped teach and uphold in a program filled with change.
It’s why he feels Alabama is set up for success in 2025.
Kalen DeBoer got some good news yesterday as LT Overton announced his return.
“The journey towards success that has been paved at Alabama by the guys before me is not over,” Overton wrote in an Instagram post. “I am excited to take on challenges, and I am always looking to provide leadership. I am also committed to working hard to achieve the goals that I share with my teammates. As the late Kobe Bryant would say — Job’s not finished! In fact, this is just the beginning. 2025 will be a time for action. This is my official announcement – I am returning for my senior year. Roll Tide, Roll!”
There were a few bright spots in that disaster of a bowl game. Zavier Mincey flashed at safety, and James Smith looked quite explosive for a 300 pounder. Perhaps the DL could be a strength next season?
Did Alabama find its answer for defensive line production in James Smith?
For a defensive line that struggled to generate pressure all season, James Smith put on a clinic for Alabama against Michigan.
Smith recorded four tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack: a tackle of Michigan quarterback Davis Warren for a 13-yard loss that was eliminated by a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
Overall, Alabama’s defensive line accounted for both sacks and six of the team’s eight tackles for loss, a welcome sign ahead of 2025.
Tom Fornelli is Captain Obvious.
The truth that some haven’t come to grips with is that no matter how much changes in college football, Alabama will remain one of the premier programs in the sport. It will still land great recruiting classes, and it will still win a lot of games and compete for SEC championships and the College Football Playoff.
But it won’t do so every year. In some years, it will lose three or four games. One day, all Alabama fans will understand it and possibly even accept it while continuing to strive for better.
The question is whether they will come to that understanding during Kalen DeBoer’s tenure or after it.
Saban repeatedly said that the level of success he enjoyed at Alabama was unsustainable, even for him.
Last, Jaren Hamilton is moving on after not seeing much action in the bowl despite a depleted WR corps.
Before the bowl, Kobe Prentice, Kendrick Law, Caleb Odom and Emmanuel Henderson opted to transfer away from Alabama. Jaylen Mbakwe, who spent his freshman regular season at cornerback, also moved to wide receiver for the game and beyond.
The transfer portal is open for Alabama players to enter for five days following the end of Tuesday’s game. The Tide lost 19-13 due to early turnovers and offensive struggles throughout, ending Kalen DeBoer’s first season in charge with a 9-3 record.
Hamilton was a four-star prospect out of high school according to the 247Sports composite. The Gainesville native chose the Crimson Tide over Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee and USC.
The receiver room is still quite stocked for 2025, though we still haven’t heard from Germie Bernard about his draft plan.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
Alabama
Gov. Kay Ivey sets execution date for Jeremy Williams
Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday set an execution date for death row inmate Jeremy Williams, who was convicted in the 2021 kidnapping, rape and murder of 5-year-old Kamarie Holland in Phenix City.
Williams is scheduled to be executed by the state’s three-drug lethal injection during a 30-hour window beginning at 12 a.m. August 13 and ending at 6 a.m. August 14. The execution date comes after the Alabama Supreme Court granted a request from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office on June 16, authorizing the state to carry out the sentence.
In a letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Lovelace, Ivey said the Supreme Court’s June 16 order serves as the official death warrant for Williams.
“By law, I am required to specify the time frame for carrying out the sentence of death,” Ivey said. “Accordingly, I hereby order that Jeremy Lee Williams’s sentence of death be carried out within a time frame beginning on August 13, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. and ending on August 14, 2026, at 6:00 a.m.”
Ivey noted that she retains the authority to commute the sentence before the execution takes place.
Williams, 34, was convicted in April 2024 on four counts of capital murder stemming from Holland’s death. Prosecutors charged him with capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a rape, capital murder during first-degree sodomy and capital murder of a child younger than 14.
Authorities said Holland disappeared from her family’s home in Phenix City on December 13, 2021. Her body was discovered two days later inside an abandoned house less than a mile away. An autopsy determined that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
In addition to the death sentence, Williams received several other prison terms. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for human trafficking and for knowingly producing recordings depicting the sexual abuse of a child. He also received another life sentence for a separate sexual abuse conviction, along with a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit human trafficking and a 10-year sentence for abuse of a corpse.
Unlike most death row inmates, Williams sought to speed up the execution process. During a hearing, he told the court that he accepted responsibility for his actions and wanted the sentence carried out.
In 2025, Williams dismissed his attorneys and informed the court that he wished to waive any remaining appeals and proceed with his execution. Russell County Circuit Court Judge David Johnson determined that Williams was competent to make that decision and allowed him to forgo further legal challenges.
Under Alabama law, capital convictions automatically receive appellate review. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals subsequently affirmed Williams’ conviction and death sentence in March.
After that review concluded, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court in May to authorize an execution date. The court granted the request earlier this week, clearing the way for Ivey to schedule the execution.
If carried out as scheduled, Williams’ execution would occur nearly five years after Holland’s death and a little more than two years after he was sentenced to death.
Williams’ execution would be Alabama’s first by lethal injection since April 2025. The state’s three most recent executions were carried out using nitrogen hypoxia, which Alabama began using in 2024.
Alabama
Kids take center stage at Alabama Shakespeare Festival summer camp
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – You don’t find too many camps where you learn how to slap someone. But this summer, you will in Montgomery. It’s one of many kids camps put on by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
“We have our Camp Shakespeare Junior which is our half day for the littles, kindergarten through 3rd grade,” said Cameron Williams, the ASF director of education. “We have Big Kid Shakespeare camp and everyone is learning all about ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.”
They learn about on stage combat, different acting techniques, and also how to be creative and think on their feet.
“I think theater skills are life skills. So, what makes this camp special is we’re doing more than just boosting literacy and doing theater things. We’re doing life skills, learning what it means to be team players, about discipline, and working with people who may have different personalities than you.”
Different kids have different talents. And even if your child isn’t up for a lead role in the next play, this place can leave a lasting impact.
“If you’re looking for a place where your kid can come out of their shell, to learn how to speak in front of a group, and develop some confidence, this is the place to be.”
It’s a place that’s a real treasure in Montgomery, and its mining some young gems, who one day, could be on the big stage themselves. There are still more ASF camps going on this summer for pre-teens and even adults.
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Alabama
Alabama Defense Contractor Agrees to $507K Settlement Over Cybersecurity Allegations
Huntsville-based defense contractor LOGZONE Inc. has agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve allegations that it failed to comply with cybersecurity requirements in contracts with the U.S. Department of the Navy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settlement resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act alleging that LOGZONE knowingly submitted claims for payment while not meeting certain cybersecurity standards required under two Navy contracts.
Federal officials alleged that between May 2021 and March 2025, LOGZONE did not implement specific cybersecurity controls outlined in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-171. The standards are designed to protect sensitive defense information handled by government contractors.
According to the Justice Department, the deficiencies were identified during an assessment conducted by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The evaluation resulted in LOGZONE receiving a score of -170 on a scale ranging from -203 to 110, indicating significant gaps in compliance with required security controls.
The government alleged that the missing cybersecurity measures could have increased the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information or the exploitation of company systems.
The settlement does not include a determination of liability. As part of the agreement, LOGZONE will pay $507,144 to resolve the allegations.
Federal officials said the enforcement action reflects ongoing efforts to ensure government contractors comply with cybersecurity obligations tied to federal contracts, particularly those involving sensitive defense information.
The investigation and settlement involved the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the Department of the Navy, the Defense Contract Management Agency, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
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Additional details regarding corrective actions taken by the company were not immediately available.
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