Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 300 pounds

Career Statistics: 48 Career Games, 3,428 Career Snaps, 18 Sacks Allowed, 79 Pressures Allowed

Accolades: 1st Team All-SWAC (2024), FCS All-American Selection (2024), BOXTOROW HBCU All-American Honorable Mention (2024), HBCU+ National Player of the Year Finalist (2024), Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List (2025)

Carson Vinson’s football journey began in Morrisville, North Carolina, where he honed his athleticism at Panther Creek High School. A dual-sport athlete, Vinson’s basketball experience as a center translated seamlessly to his role on the football field. Starting his high school career in 2016, Vinson played on both sides of the ball as a defensive and offensive tackle. By his junior season in 2018, he transitioned exclusively to the offensive side, focusing on guard and tackle positions.

During his senior year in 2019, Vinson continued to develop as a consistent presence on the offensive line, earning recognition for his size and technique. His high school career culminated with a commitment to Alabama A&M University in 2020, where he joined the Bulldogs as an offensive lineman.

Vinson’s early college career was marked by limited action. He appeared in three games as a freshman in 2020 and seven games as a sophomore in 2021. He had a breakout season in 2022, starting in all 11 games for the Bulldogs.

Vinson continued his dominance in 2023, earning All-SWAC honors from FCS Football Central. In 2024, he put together his best season, starting in 12 games and only allowing two sacks and 10 quarterback pressures. He was a finalist for the HBCU+ National Player of the Year, earning FCS All-American honors from multiple media outlets.

At 6-foot-7 and 300 lbs, Carson Vinson has the prototypical height for an offensive tackle, paired with a long, lean, and athletic frame. His standout physical attributes include exceptional arm length, which allows him to keep defenders at bay. While his weight is below average for the position, his athleticism and mobility help compensate for this limitation, making him an intriguing prospect in a zone-blocking scheme.

Vinson’s footwork and lateral quickness are among his strongest traits. His ability to change direction and move fluidly across the line of scrimmage allows him to excel in space, whether pulling, climbing to the second level, or executing reach blocks. His ability to stay square with defenders during run-blocking assignments ensures that he can seal the edge effectively. However, he struggles to generate consistent movement on solo blocking assignments and doesn’t always drive defenders off the ball, a limitation that may stem from his lighter frame.

In pass protection, Vinson demonstrates solid technique and patience, utilizing his length to control pass rushers effectively. His hand placement is commendable, and he shows the ability to reposition his hands inside the defender’s frame to maintain leverage. While his anchor is generally reliable, heavier and more powerful rushers could pose a challenge, particularly when they engage his chest or exploit his occasional tendency to bend at the waist. These moments of imbalance can result in Vinson losing leverage, especially when defenders force him off his center.

Vinson’s ability to reach the second level and his strong body control make him a valuable asset in zone-blocking schemes. However, his timing in combination blocking can be inconsistent, as he sometimes engages too early or loses balance when trying to transition from one defender to the next.

Carson Vinson projects as a fringe NFL roster prospect. His best fit is a zone-blocking scheme that leverages his length, mobility, and athleticism. His ability to protect the edge in pass protection and move effectively in space makes him an appealing option for teams seeking developmental depth along the offensive line.

While Vinson may not project as a Day 1 starter, his physical traits and technical foundation give him the tools to develop into a reliable backup tackle with the potential to earn a starting role in the right system. To reach his full potential, Vinson will need to add bulk and strength to his frame, improve his ability to generate movement in the run game and refine his consistency in combination blocking.

NFL Draft Scouting Report: Jackson State RB Irv Mulligan
NFL Draft Scouting Report: William & Mary OL Charles Grant
NFL Draft Scouting Report: Montana State OL Marcus Wehr
NFL Draft Scouting Report: Central Arkansas EDGE David Walker

Follow all of FCS Football Central’s coverage throughout the season on X, Facebook, and YouTube.

Philadelphia wide receiver DeVonta Smith has played in five of his 68 NFL games without former Alabama teammate Jalen Hurts as the Eagles quarterback, including on Sunday. In two of those five games, Smith has caught two touchdown passes, including on Sunday.

In the Eagles’ 41-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Smith had six receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns even though Hurts missed the game after sustaining a concussion in last week’s 36-33 loss to the Washington Commanders.

While Hurts has been on the throwing end of 23 of Smith’s 27 TD catches, the former Alabama All-American has had two of his three two-touchdown games with Hurts’ backups on the field.

Against the Cowboys, Smith caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett as Philadelphia took a 14-7 lead with 6:38 left in the first half.

After Pickett left with a rib injury, Smith caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tanner McKee with 10:03 remaining.

Smith caught two touchdown passes from Hurts in a 30-13 victory over the Denver Broncos on Nov. 14, 2021, and two touchdown passes from Gardner Minshew in a 40-34 loss to Dallas on Dec. 24, 2022.

Smith’s second 100-yard game of season was the 11th of his career. He has two more in postseason play.

By improving to 13-3, the Eagles clinched the NFC East title and the accompanying home game in the first round of the postseason.

WHAT DOES JALEN HURTS HAVE TO DO TO PLAY QUARTERBACK AGAIN FOR THE EAGLES?

Smith was among the 32 former Alabama players who got on the field on the 17th Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.

Six other former Alabama players were involved in the Dallas-Philadelphia game:

Landon Dickerson started at left guard for the Eagles.

Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was designated as a game-day inactive. Hurts sustained a concussion in Philadelphia’s previous game.

Eagles cornerback Eli Ricks did not record any stats.

Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen did not record any stats.

Eagles defensive tackle Byron Young is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

In the other Sunday games:

Buffalo Bills 40, New York Jets 14

Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper had three receptions for 56 yards and one touchdown. Cooper caught a 30-yard pass from quarterback Josh Allen as Buffalo took a 19-0 lead with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter. The receptions boosted Cooper’s career totals to 711 catches for 10,033 yards and 64 touchdowns. Cooper became the 57th player in NFL history to reach 10,000 receiving yards in regular-season play.

Bills safety Kareem Jackson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley (Theodore) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers caught a 69-yard touchdown pass. Buffalo elevated Shavers from its practice squad to make him eligible to play on Sunday for the third time in his NFL career. The only pass by Bills backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky on Sunday went to Shavers, and he turned his first NFL interception into a long-distance touchdown even though he caught the football behind the line of scrimmage.

TYRELL SHAVERS SCORES 69-YARD TOUCHDOWN ON HIS FIRST NFL CATCH

Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made two tackles.

Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Tennessee Titans 13

Mac Jones started at quarterback for the Jaguars. Jones completed 15-of-22 passes for 174 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran six times for 22 yards. Jones threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Parker Washington as Jacksonville took a 10-0 lead with 8:59 left in the first half and an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. as the Jaguars went ahead 20-10 with 7:05 to play. The Thomas TD came at the end of a 16-play, 74-yard drive that took 9:11. Jones made his fourth start since Trevor Lawrence went on injured reserve for the rest of the season. Jones had a 66.6 passing-efficiency rating in the first start – a 10-6 victory over Tennessee on Dec. 8. His rating has improved each game since, reaching 122.2 on Sunday for the fifth-best showing of his career. The Jaguars converted on 8-of-13 third-down snaps, and Jones got half of the conversions on the ground with three quarterback sneaks and a 9-yard scramble.

J.C. Latham started at left offensive tackle for the Titans. Latham became the 16th rookie to start at least 16 games for Tennessee. In the Titans’ regular-season finale next week, he could join cornerback Roger McCreary, a former Williamson High School and Auburn standout, as the only players to start 17 games as rookies for Tennessee.

Calvin Ridley started at wide receiver for the Titans. Ridley had five receptions for 84 yards and one rushing attempt that gained 7 yards. Ridley will go into the final game of the season needing 59 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the 2024 campaign.

Jaguars running back Keilan Robinson did not record any stats.

Las Vegas Raiders 25, New Orleans Saints 10

Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry (Pinson Valley) started at right cornerback for the Saints. McKinstry made three tackles.

New York Giants 45, Indianapolis Colts 33

Colts defensive tackle Raekwon Davis made one tackle.

Colts safety Ronnie Harrison did not record any stats.

Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.

Evan Neal started at right offensive tackle for the Giants.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Carolina Panthers 14

Buccaneers safety Marcus Banks is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Buccaneers outside linebacker Chris Braswell recorded the first full sack of his NFL career. The second-round rookie had a strip sack of Carolina QB Bryce Young on a third-and-5 snap at the Tampa Bay 33-yard line with 7:39 left to play. Braswell caused Young to fumble, but the Panthers recovered.

Panthers defensive end LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) made one tackle.

A’Shawn Robinson started at defensive end for the Panthers. Robinson made two tackles.

Bryce Young started at quarterback for the Panthers. Young completed 15-of-28 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran twice for 8 yards. Young returned to the Carolina lineup on Oct. 27 in a 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos and started a nine-game streak with at least one touchdown pass in that contest. For the first time in his career, Young had two or more touchdown passes in consecutive games after throwing for two TDs in last week’s 36-30 overtime victory against the Arizona Cardinals. On Sunday, Young threw touchdown passes to wide receiver Adam Thielen of 17 yards with 8:15 left in the first quarter and 40 yards with 50 seconds left in the first half. On third down, Young completed 1-of-5 passes for 10 yards, was sacked twice and scrambled for a first down.

Miami Dolphins 20, Cleveland Browns 3

Browns cornerback Tony Brown is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Browns guard Javion Cohen (Central-Phenix City) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Jerome Ford started at running back for the Browns. Ford ran for 22 yards on six carries and returned a kickoff 23 yards before leaving the game because of an ankle injury.

Dolphins defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand made one tackle and recovered one fumble. Hand recovered a fumble by Cleveland quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson at the Browns 45-yard line with 5:23 left in the third quarter. Hand’s only other NFL fumble recovery came on Oct. 7, 2018.

Jerry Jeudy started at wide receiver for the Browns. Jeudy had 12 receptions for 94 yards. Jeudy reached a career high for receptions, surpassing his 11 catches in a 21-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 15.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was designated as a game-day inactive. A hip injury kept Tagovailoa out of the lineup.

Dalvin Tomlinson started at defensive tackle for the Browns. Tomlinson made three tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury sidelined Waddle for the second game in a row.

Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Minnesota Vikings 27, Green Bay Packers 25

Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Packers. Jacobs ran for 69 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. He extended his touchdown streak to seven games with a 2-yard run with 5:07 left in the third quarter as Green Bay cut Minnesota’s lead to 20-10. Jacobs also lost a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to a holding penalty.

Xavier McKinney started at safety for the Packers. McKinney made seven tackles.

Vikings kicker Will Reichard (Hoover) made 2-of-4 field-goal attempts after entering the game 19-of-22 in his rookie season. Reichard made a 25-yard field goal with 2:16 left in the first half and a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Reichard had a 57-yard field-goal attempt hit the crossbar and a 43-yard field-goal attempt hit the left upright. Reichard also made three extra-point kicks on Sunday.

Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Vikings. Robinson’s 100th regular-season game was his 100th NFL start.

Vikings outside linebacker Dallas Turner recorded one sack. The sack was the third of the first-round rookie’s career.

Washington Commanders 30, Atlanta Falcons 24 (OT)

Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen made one tackle. Allen returned from a nine-game injury absence and played in a reserve role for the first time in his 108 NFL regular-season games.

Falcons linebacker Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Falcons running back Jase McClellan is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne made two tackles.

Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) started at running back for the Commanders. Robinson ran for 60 yards on 13 carries and caught two passes for 7 yards.

Week 17 started on Wednesday, when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-10 and the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Houston Texans 31-2.

STEELERS’ NAJEE HARRIS HAS 4 1,000-YARD RUSHING PERFORMANCES IN 4 SEASONS

Week 17 continued on Thursday night, when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Chicago Bears 6-3.

Three games were played on Saturday: The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the New England Patriots 40-7, the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Denver Broncos 30-24 in overtime and the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 13-9.

Week 17 concludes on Monday, when the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball wrapped up non-conference play with a 105-82 win over South Dakota State on Sunday. The Crimson Tide (11-2) has won its last five games and will now turn its attention to the best league in college basketball — the Southeastern Conference.

The Tide has had plenty of ups and downs throughout its non-conference run. It went 5-2 in seven straight games against high-major sides, including impressive wins over North Carolina and Illinois and earned gritty wins over Houston and Rutgers. However, Alabama has also struggled in losses to Purdue and Oregon as well as a unique road environment at North Dakota.

Overall, Alabama tested itself against the No. 14 best schedule according to KenPom.com. When assessing the Tide’s non-conference performance, coach Nate Oats highlighted the importance of facing good teams in non-conference play as well as a theme of improved consistency that he wants to see going forward.

“I think there’s a lot we need to be better at, there’s a lot we need to clean up to be competing for a championship in this league,” Oats said after the South Dakota State game. “But I do think we tested ourselves against some of the better teams in the country. We’ve done pretty well at times. We know when we’re playing our best we can play with anybody in the country, we just haven’t been consistent over 40 minutes.”

Oats has been particularly surprised at Alabama’s lack of consistency shooting the basketball. Despite the occasional strong shooting stretch, Alabama is still making just 31.2% of its shots from beyond the arc this season. The Tide has dealt with injuries to some of its best shooters, including Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Houston Mallette and Chris Youngblood, but Oats is still expecting improvement in the scoring department no matter if Alabama’s 3-point accuracy improves.

“Between those guys we expect to have a little bit better shooting team,” Oats said. “We’ve got to find out different ways to score the basketball when we’re not shooting. Today, we made 18 threes, but we shot 34.5% percent, so it’s not like we shot it great today. Little disappointing with how we’re shooting it from three but we’re gonna have to figure out other ways to score the basketball.”

Oats also wants to see the Tide become more consistent on the offensive glass along with creating and limiting turnovers. The Tide gained some momentum in that department Sunday with a season-low of six turnovers against South Dakota State while converting 14 Jackrabbits giveaways into 24 points.

Though there is still room for improvement as a whole, Oats highlighted a few pleasant surprises this season. The biggest of which has been the play of freshman guard Labaron Philon. The hype for the four-star recruit first began over the summer and he has become a mainstay in the starting lineup and is averaging 11.7 points, 3.7 and 3.8 assists this season. Derrion Reid has also had a strong start to his first season of college basketball. Though he missed the South Dakota State game with an injury, Reid is averaging 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds and has looked particularly strong in extended minutes through the Tide’s last four games.

As Alabama heads into SEC play, Oats is confident that the Tide’s non-conference schedule prepared his team to contend in the best conference in college basketball. Alabama has been far from perfect on both ends, but games against different types of systems and schemes have helped foster growth and given Alabama different looks to get it ready for the strong opponents and environments it will face in the SEC.

“We’ve learned a lot,” Oats said. “Going down to Purdue and playing a tough road game, even North Dakota, they were a tough road game. Got to get our lead player package together, we got exposed on that a little up there. We’ve seen lots of different styles, our post defense got exposed a little bit, particularly starting with the Purdue game. We’ve got to be a little bit better with that and have different options with that. Different things we got exposed on that we’ve got to work on, we’ve just got to keep working on it”

Alabama will face undefeated Oklahoma to tip off SEC play. The Sooners (13-0) have been one of the biggest surprises across college basketball so far and are one of three remaining unbeaten SEC sides. Oats acknowledged the strength of the conference as a whole and went back to the theme of consistency that Alabama will have to find in order to be successful during conference play this season.

“I think hopefully our guys, with the level of these teams in the SEC, they’ll be better at staying locked in and focused for 40 minutes,” Oats said. “We got Oklahoma who’s far exceeded everyone’s expectations so far in the year coming in to start the thing out. This is not gonna be an easy game, they’re talent level is good, they’ve good a really good coach. [Porter Moser’s] taken Loyola [Chicago] to the Final Four and been really good. They’re well coached with talent that plays hard, they’re gonna be tough to beat. If we’re gonna have any kind of chance to win the SEC you’ve got to take care of your home floor, so we’ve got a home game to start and we’ll have to be ready to roll against Oklahoma in six days.”

The Tide and Sooners will square off at 5 p.m. CT Saturday inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.