Alabama
Alabama High School Football Player Dies Following 'Medical Emergency' During Practice
A high school student from Alabama is dead after experiencing a medical emergency during football practice.
Alabama’s Coffee County School System announced on social media on Thursday, Aug. 15, that New Brockton High School student Semaj Wilkins died on Tuesday, Aug. 13. The county’s coroner’s office said Wilkins, who was a football player, experienced a “medical emergency” and was transported to the hospital before he died.
“Semaj was a young man who brought joy and inspiration to his peers, teammates, coaches, and faculty members,” the Coffee County School System said in a statement. “His loss will be deeply felt by everyone who knew him.”
The Coffee County Coroner’s Office said that the incident is being investigated by the sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office.
Semaj Wilkins/Facebook
“This is a very emotional time for [Wilkins’] family and the Emergency Responders involved,” the coroner’s office said in its statement, adding that it asked others to “please respect and pray for the family during this difficult time.”
Coffee County Coroner Arnold Woodham told TODAY that Wilkins suffered a “medical emergency” during warmups for football practice and collapsed.
The New Brockton High School freshman was given CPR on the field while waiting for emergency responders to arrive. They arrived on the scene within minutes and transported Wilkins to the nearby Medical Center Enterprise where he was pronounced dead.
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“It’s dealt a real blow to this small community,” Woodham said. “I’ve been here all my life and this is the first time I’ve seen or heard of anything like this occurring here.”
Wilkins’ body has been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy, which may take several weeks to complete, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Coffee County School System said a vigil would be held for Wilkins on Friday, Aug. 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the New Brockton High School Football Stadium. That was the location and date the New Brockton High School’s football team was scheduled to scrimmage against Barbour County, per SI.
The school said in a post on Facebook that it invites everyone “to join us in celebrating the life of Semaj Wilkins and to honor his mother, Regena Adams” and “come together” to “remember the positive impact Semaj made on our community.”
The school system also announced that it will be helping the Wilkins’ family collect payment contributions both in person and through their website to help “assist with the funeral and burial expenses.”
Alabama
Where to watch Texas vs. Alabama today: College basketball free stream
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The No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide host the Texas Longhorns Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The Crimson Tide have four losses this season, all have come against teams ranked inside the top 11.
Texas vs. Alabama will air on ESPN, and streams live on DIRECTV (free trial).
What: Men’s college basketball regular season
Who: Texas Longhorns vs. No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide
When: Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live stream: DIRECTV (free trial), fuboTV (free trial)
Texas is 3-4 in its past seven games, and doesn’t have a win over any currently ranked teams. A road win over Alabama would help its cause in the national ranking and the SEC standings. Alabama hasn’t lost to an unranked team this season, and a second straight would hurt their hopes for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s a recent college basketball story via the Associated Press:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyler Tanner scored 23 of his career-high 29 points in the second half and No. 11 Vanderbilt remained undefeated by beating 13th-ranked Alabama 96-90 on Wednesday night.
The Commodores (15-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) extended their best start since winning 16 straight games to open the 2007-08 season. This is only the second time in the program’s 124-year history that Vanderbilt has won its first 15.
Vanderbilt hadn’t played a ranked opponent until this game, also the first here between two top-15 teams since Jan. 5, 1974. Then-No. 10 Vanderbilt beat the 14th-ranked Crimson Tide in that game on its way to splitting the SEC championship with Alabama.
Vanderbilt also beat Alabama for the first time at Memorial Gym since 2018, ending a five-game skid against the Tide.
Duke Miles had 19 points and five steals before fouling out, and four other Commodores finished with at least four fouls. Tyler Nickel scored 12 points while Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke, who also fouled out, each had 10.
Tanner, a sophomore guard, added seven assists and four steals. He was 12 of 15 at the free-throw line — all in the second half.
Alabama (11-4, 1-1) had its four-game winning streak snapped in a game featuring 63 combined fouls, with two technicals on the Crimson Tide.
Amari Allen led Alabama with a season-high 25 points. Leading scorer Labaron Philon Jr. added 18 but checked out with 16:06 to go and never returned. Aden Holloway had 22 points and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 13.
Fouls called left and right turned the first 10 minutes of the second half into ugly ball, and Alabama never led by more than four. Allen hit two free throws that pulled the Tide to 59-58 with 12:14 left.
Vanderbilt went on a 16-4 spurt that included a technical foul on Alabama coach Nate Oats with 8:39 to go. Tanner hit both free throws off the technical, then Mike James knocked down a 3-pointer for a 74-63 lead. The Tide made it interesting but got no closer than 94-90.
Up next
Alabama hosts Texas on Saturday.
Vanderbilt hosts LSU on Saturday.
Can I bet on the game?
Yes, you can bet on the game from your phone in New York State, and we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.
Alabama
Texas vs. Alabama Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Jan. 10
The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off a tough loss to Vanderbilt, but at 11-4 overall, they’re still in a great spot this season. On Saturday, they’ll host the Texas Longhorns, who are still seeking their first SEC win of the 2025-26 college basketball campaign.
Texas lost to Mississippi State in overtime and then lost by 14 points to Tennessee this past week. The oddsmakers now have them set as significant underdogs in this game, meaning a 0-3 start in conference play is likely. Let’s dive into it.
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Dailyn Swain is leading Texas in points (15.6), rebounds (7.1), assists (3.5), and steals (1.8) per game. You’d be hard-pressed to find another team in college basketball where the same player leads the team in all four of those statistics. Alabama will have to shut him down to win and cover in this game.
The key factor in any Alabama game is how its opponent defends the perimeter. The Crimson Tide is primarily a three-point shooting team, which means the ability for their opponent to defend the three-ball plays a big role in how the game turns out.
Unfortunately, the Longhorns rank 223rd in the country in opponent three-point field goal percentage. They allow teams to shoot 34.4% from beyond the arc, which means Alabama, especially with the Crimson Tide being on their home court, has a chance to shoot the lights out on Saturday.
I’m going to lay the points on Alabama as a big favorite.
Pick: Alabama -13.5 (-110) via FanDuel
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Alabama
How an Alabama moonshiner’s whiskey became the official state drink – and stayed that way
Named after a famous 1940s Bullock County moonshiner who eventually served an 18-month federal prison sentence at Maxwell Air Force Base for producing illegal liquor, the Clyde May’s whiskey company was founded in Union Springs in 2001 by the bootlegger’s son, Kenny May.
Though the whiskey it produced was actually distilled in Kentucky, it was supposedly made using Conecuh Ridge spring water that was trucked there from Alabama.
In 2004, the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved a resolution naming the company’s “Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey” as the “Official State Spirit” of Alabama.
Gov. Bob Riley, a teetotaler who did not think the state should have an “official whiskey,” vetoed the resolution, but Democrat lawmakers quickly overrode his veto and allowed the resolution to take effect.
Shortly thereafter, in December of 2004, state liquor agents arrested Kenny May for selling liquor without a license, possessing excessive quantities of liquor in a dry county, and selling alcohol to a minor. He pled guilty to the charges.
Alabama’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board immediately moved to revoke Conecuh Ridge’s distribution license, meaning that once stores sold out of their existing stock, the state’s official spirit could no longer be sold in Alabama.
May’s stock was held in trust pending the outcome of his trial. Attorney Alva Lambert assumed interim leadership of the company.
After May entered his guilty plea, the Alabama House of Representatives moved to repeal the declaration of Conecuh Ridge as Alabama’s “Official State Spirit,” but the reversal legislation never passed the Alabama Senate. It remains the “Official State Spirit” today.
Kenny May passed away in 2016.
Owned and operated by a company based in New York today, Clyde May’s whiskey and bourbon is sold nationwide.
It’s flagship bottle is marketed as “Alabama-style” whiskey, and dried apples are added to the liquor as it ages in barrels, which imparts an apple/cinnamon flavor to the finished product.
Some like it, and some hate it, but all can agree the whiskey carries a fascinating political pedigree.
This story originally appeared in The Art of Alabama Politics, an outlet dedicated to the the wild, weird, and wonderful history of Alabama politics.
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