South Alabama on Saturday added a transfer portal commitment from former South Carolina offensive lineman Ni Mansell.

Mansell (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) played in two games for the Gamecocks this past season after redshirting in 2023 due to injury and has one season of eligibility remaining. A native of Anderson, S.C., he played three seasons at Mercer — starting 10 games at guard in 2022, with the 2020 season not counting against his eligibility due to COVID.

Mansell (whose full first name is pronounced “Nye-ju-won”) is South Alabama’s fifth portal commitment in the current cycle, joining linebacker Tre’Mon Henry (Southern Miss), defensive end Tirrell Johnson (Harding), wide receiver Brendan Jenkins (Samford) and defensive back Dallas Young (Arkansas). The Jaguars are expected to add a few more portal transfers before spring semester classes begin on Monday.

South Alabama went 7-6 in 2024, beating Eastern Michigan 30-23 in the Salute to Veterans Bowl.

The No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide play against the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies in an SEC basketball game tonight. The matchup will begin at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

The Crimson Tide enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won seven consecutive games. In their most recent game, the Crimson Tide defeated South Carolina 88-68.

During the victory, Alabama’s star guard Mark Sears scored 22 points and shot 7-12 from the field. He also shot 4-6 from beyond the arc, so he will try to perform similarly this evening.

The Aggies also enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won nine games in a row. The team has a 4-0 record against ranked opponents.

In their most recent game, the Aggies defeated Oklahoma 80-78. During the victory, Zhuric Phelps led the Texas A&M offense. He scored 34 points and shot 6-10 from three-point range, so he will try to continue his great play tonight.

Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Some social media users are bracing for a possible ban on the popular social media app TikTok.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to ban the social media platform by Jan. 19 if the Chinese-owned company does not sell the platform due to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

It’s a dilemma between free speech and national security.

“Many of the content creators on TikTok are Americans, so they are protected under the First Amendment, and it was also argued that TikTok could be seen as a public forum, and Americans have freedom of speech in a public forum,” Troy University Assistant Professor of journalism and communications Dr. Stefanie East said.

Montgomery-raised content creator Funmi Ford says this ban could affect many Americans financially, not only content creators, but also small business owners.

“There are entrepreneurs that have used TikTok not only to get income but to get new clients,” Ford said. “There’s so many people that use this app to feed their families that I think it’s going to be really hard for them.”

TikTok has provided Ford with a way to share her culture from Accra Ghana and interact with other cultures. She fears without this social media platform, it may be more difficult to make those global connections.

“I feel like TikTok is one of the few places, because it’s video and it’s short form, you got to digest a lot of information, whether good or bad, that either widened your horizon, made you think differently, made you want to travel,” said Ford. “So with it possibly being banned, which we hope it’s not, it’s going to close a window to somebody else’s life, a window to another part of the world that you would not see otherwise.”

TikTok, as well as some of its users, have sued to block the U.S. ban contending that it violates First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court is now faced with the decision between those claims and Congress’ concern the Chinese government may have influence over the social media platform.

President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief at the Supreme Court asking justices to temporarily block the law so he can “pursue a political resolution” once he takes office.

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