Alabama
Ex-Alabama football CB Jackson calls Kalen DeBoer’s offense the most complex he’s ever seen
MOBILE — Former Alabama football CB Khyree Jackson, who transferred to Oregon and started as a senior last year, twice played against the Washington offense that is now coming to Alabama, once in the regular season and again in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Washington won both contests, and when it comes to the scheme that new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will install, Jackson had the ultimate praise.
“That was the most complex offense I’ve ever been against in my career, even my years at Alabama. Their route combinations are one of a kind,” Jackson said Wednesday at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. “… They do things out of bunch formations you don’t really see anywhere else. Most teams, if it’s third-and-5, their bunch concept is going to be ‘scat,’ where they’ll hit a little short route. Against Washington, on a third down like that, you can be expecting the short game and they’ll take you up top.”
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That’s a mouthful from a player who faced some pretty stout offenses both in the SEC and the Pac-12. Jackson said he credits retired Alabama coach Nick Saban for what he called his “football IQ,” noting that his transition from Alabama to Oregon was an easy one because of what he learned in Saban’s defense.
And what he learned from Saban taught him to respect what he saw from DeBoer and Grubb.
“It’s about being aware at all times. You never could guess what they were doing. You had to play honest,” Jackson said.
Jackson and DeBoer’s quarterback at Washington, Michael Penix, are teammates this week as they prepare for Saturday’s Senior Bowl. According to Jackson, the two have spoken this week about how Washington’s offense attacked Oregon’s defense, and vice versa. For Jackson, Oregon’s two losses to UW were as much about the plan as they were the players.
“It wasn’t just about the talent. They had great players, but they had a great system too, and that made it that much harder to defend,” Jackson added. “The double-crossers was definitely one of their favorite things. We were a heavy man-to-man team, and Michael told me that was part of their game plan, hitting us with a lot of rub combinations.”
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
Alabama
University of Alabama police officer's family leans on law enforcement community after his death
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) – Pauline Love, the new head coach of the Alabama women’s basketball team, says her late college coach, Joye Lee-McNelis, is the reason she got into coaching.
Love played for Lee-McNelis at Southern Miss, describing her as a second mother. Lee-McNelis passed away last summer after a long battle with breast cancer.
A relationship that changed her path
Love said she once told Lee-McNelis she would never go into coaching, a conversation the two laughed about often.
“I used to tell her all the time, I would never do this. I would never put up with somebody like me or I would never work for somebody like her. I was like coach, you’re crazy. We used to laugh about it all the time and she was like you’ll see one day, you’ll see,” Love said.
Love had planned to work in the tech industry. Instead, she has spent 15 years in coaching.
“She pretty much paved the way for me. There’s no way I’d be sitting here if it wasn’t for her,” Love said.
High expectations at Alabama
Love returns to Tuscaloosa after previously serving as an assistant at Alabama. She was introduced as head coach in April, and was brought to tears when she mentioned Lee-McNelis during that introduction.
Her goals for the program are clear.
“I’m going to have a passion about it. I want to bring a Final Four to the University of Alabama and make Tuscaloosa proud,” Love said.
This year’s roster includes Spring Garden’s Ace Austin, back for her sophomore season.
Love said she wants her players to know that difficult times are part of the process.
“I can say for them, I’ve been there. I’ve done it. Just learn how to figure out and fight through hard things. You gotta do something hard and fight through it and I promise you it’s rewarding at the end of it,” Love said.
Love said she also wants to be a source of support for her players off the court, the same way Lee-McNelis was for her.
“I know we always get caught up in the money part of it, but I got a group of girls that doesn’t care about that. They want to care about making the fans happy and giving them something good to watch,” Love said.
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Alabama football fans are invited to a preseason pep rally Aug. 4 at the Tuscaloosa River Market.
The pep rally is part of the annual fall kickoff event hosted by the Tuscaloosa County chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association.
The family friendly event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway. Tickets, which include a barbecue dinner, cost $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 8 to 12. Children 7 years old and younger will be admitted for free.
The pep rally will feature live entertainment, a silent auction and a range of family-friendly activities. There will also be a cash bar with wine and beer.
Tickets can be purchased on the chapter’s website, tuscaloosacountyuaalumni.com. Membership in the local alumni chapter is not required for attendance.
University of Alabama President Peter Mohler and UA baseball coach Rob Vaughn will be part of the festivities.
Mohler began his duties as UA president on July 21, 2025.
Before being named UA president, Mohler spent nearly 15 years at Ohio State University, where he held senior leadership roles overseeing research, innovation and economic development. He also served as OSU’s acting president, providing leadership during a pivotal period for one of the nation’s largest public universities.
Mohler earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a PhD in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Vaughn has been UA’s head baseball coach for three years, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Baseball World Series in 2026.
The Humble, Texas, native served as head baseball coach at Maryland for five seasons before coming to Tuscaloosa.
Vaughn played collegiate baseball at Kansas State, where his position was catcher.
Alabama begins the 2026 football season on Sept. 5 with a home game against the East Carolina Pirates. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Other Alabama home games include Florida State on Sept. 19, South Carolina on Sept. 26, Georgia on Oct. 10, Texas A&M on Oct. 24, Chattanooga on Nov. 21 and Auburn on Nov. 28.
Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com. To support his work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.
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