Alabama
Alabama freshman cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe plans to enter the transfer portal
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Alabama freshman cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe plans to enter the transfer portal, he told On3 Sports Monday night and confirmed in a social media post.
A Pinson, Alabama native, Mbakwe was a five-star recruit that was rated as the No. 12 overall prospect and No. 2 cornerback nationally in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Mbakwe had committed to and signed with the Crimson Tide under Nick Saban, but stuck with the program after Saban’s retirement and Kalen DeBoer’s hiring last January.
In his first and potentially only season with Alabama, Mbakwe played 11 of the team’s 12 regular-season games and finished with 15 tackles, one tackle for loss, two pass break-ups and an interception.
In a post on Instagram, Mbakwe described his move as a “business decision.”
“This was not an easy decision, but I believe it’s the best step for my personal and professional development and the future I’m working towards for myself and my family,” he wrote.
Mbakwe no longer appears on the 2024 Alabama football roster and a link to his profile page on the team’s official website now comes up with an error message.
Given his lofty standing coming out of Clay-Chalkville High School in Pinson, Mbakwe’s departure drew significant interest and curiosity from those around college football, but particularly those in Alabama, who were trying to parse social media posts from other Crimson Tide football players to decipher any possible meaning from them.
Alabama star freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams posted an Instagram story Monday night of a picture of him and Mbakwe, along with the caption “Bingo we got action,” with elephant and bullseye emojis. Williams and Mbakwe are close friends and co-hosts of a podcast, “The New Wave.”
Though the Crimson Tide are set to bring back Domani Jackson and fellow five-star freshman Zabien Brown, Mbakwe becomes the third Alabama defensive back to hit the transfer portal this offseason, joining cornerback Jahlil Hurley and safety DeVonta Smith.
The exits come after an underwhelming first season in Tuscaloosa for DeBoer, the former Washington coach, whose team went 9-3 and wasn’t selected for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Alabama
Alabama Shakes Set Spring 2026 Tour Dates
Alabama Shakes have lined up a string of North American tour dates for 2026. Brittany Howard and the band’s spring run includes multiple stops in Florida and a concluding two-night stint at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. Check out the new dates, plus their previously announced festival shows, European itinerary, and Zach Bryan support dates, below.
Support for the headline shows comes from Joy Oladokun, Mon Rovîa, Lamont Landers, and JJ Grey & Mofro. For every ticket sold, $1 will go towards nonprofits around the United States via the Alabama Shakes Fund, a press release notes. There is, as yet, no word on a follow-up to the band’s 2015 album, Sound & Color, but they did sign to Island this year and release their first single since that record.
Alabama Shakes:
04-16 Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront ~
04-17 Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena ~
04-18 Charleston, SC – High Water Fest
04-22 Memphis, TN – Grind City Amphitheater +
04-24 Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park +
04-25 Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater +
04-26 St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre %
04-28 Tallahassee, FL – Adderley Amphitheater %
04-29 Boca Raton, FL – Sunset Cove Amphitheater %
04-30 Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound %
05-02 New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
05-24 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
05-25 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
06-13 Manchester, Tennessee – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
07-01 Leeds, England – Millennium Square
07-02 Wasing, England – On the Mount at Wasing
07-03 London, England – Alexandra Palace *
07-05 Ghent, Belgium – Gent Jazz Festival
07-07 Lucca, Italy – Summer Festival
07-09 Lisbon, Portugal – NOS Alive Festival
07-10 Bilbao, Spain – BBK Live
07-11 Madrid, Spain – Noches del Botanico
07-25 Eugene, OR – Autzen Stadium ^
09-19 Dover, DE – The Woodlands ^
~ with Joy Oladokun
+ with Mon Rovîa
% with Lamont Landers
# with JJ Grey & Mofro
* with Tyler Ballgame
^ supporting Zach Bryan
Alabama
Jacob Crews scores 20 for Missouri in 85-77 win over Alabama State
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jacob Crews scored 20, and Anthony Robinson II added 19 in Missouri’s 85-77 win over Alabama State on Thursday night.
Crews shot 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point arc. Mark Mitchell added 15 points for Missouri (9-2), and Sebastian Mack added 10.
The Tigers had a 15-0 run in the first half, heading into the locker room up 52-39. Alabama State was held scoreless over a 4:19 drought in the middle of the second half to open a 9-0 run for the Tigers. The Hornets (3-8) responded with their own 10-0 run to bring the game within eight, 74-62. The Tigers regained control, though, to keep their eight-point lead the rest of the game, handing Alabama State their fourth loss in a row.
The Tigers shot 65% (33 of 51). Both teams shot 50% from the free-throw line.
Alabama State outscored Missouri in the final period, 38-33. Asjon Anderscon scored 23 for the Hornets, leading all players in scoring.
Up next
Missouri hosts Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14.
Alabama State travels to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on Dec. 17.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Alabama
Katie Windham Highlights Alabama Areas of Improvement on The Joe Gaither Show
Let’s crank up a Thursday edition of “The Joe Gaither Show on BamaCentral” with Mason Woods and Katie Windham as we start getting ready for next week’s College Football Playoff game between Alabama and Oklahoma. Windham detailed how the Crimson Tide can improve over the next few weeks, we discuss the team’s health and look back at our last road trip to Norman. The show then discusses the Heisman Trophy finalists before addressing a Kalen DeBoer coaching rumor.
The program opens by power ranking the holidays before discussing Windham’s three areas the Crimson Tide can improve over the next week. Our trio picks the easiest area the team can improve and how Alabama must perform in Norman. Windham details our last trip to Oklahoma as we go down memory lane to the Sooners’ 24-3 victory last season.
The show continues on by getting Windham’s thoughts on Alabama’a College Football Playoff selection and if the Crimson Tide actually deserved its place in the field. She brings up a unique aspect of Alabama’s blowout loss in the SEC Championship and how it played into the program’s inclusion in the College Football Playoffs.
We move from next week’s game into a small discussion on Notre Dame’s reaction of being left out of the field and how it relates to Alabama’s future home-and-home dates with the Fighting Irish. Will the two esteemed programs still face off in a few years?
The show heads into the only college football action of the weekend by highlighting the strong Heisman Trophy finalist field. Who brings home the bronze statue?
Lastly, we spend the final bit of the show talking about Michigan firing Sherrone Moore and the reports of the Wolverines considering persuing Kalen DeBeor for their next head coach. Will DeBoer leave Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor?
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