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.
The 2026 Major League Baseball Draft begins Saturday, and Alabama Crimson Tide shortstop Justin Lebron has consistently been touted as one of the first 10-20 overall picks among analysts’ various mock drafts.
On Friday, CBS Sports released its final mock ahead of this weekend’s festivities in Philadelphia. Analyst Mike Axisa sees Lebron going to the Texas Rangers with the 16th overall selection.
Among college players, Lebron lands between Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick at No. 14 and one spot above Texas A&M second baseman Chris Hacopian in CBS Sports’ final analysis.
Axisa said of the possible Rangers-Lebron fit:
“The Rangers have a thing for ‘famous’ prospects in the draft (think Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker), and Lebron is one of the most famous prospects available this summer. About 18 months ago, he was the favorite to go No. 1 overall, but some uneven performances (and Cholowsky’s breakout) cooled that talk. Lebron has some of the loudest tools in the draft class. We’re talking speed, power, athleticism, the works. Approach and plate discipline concerns have held him back, though.”
ESPN sees Alabama’s Justin Lebron among top 12 MLB draft picks
In the final MLB mock draft by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel on Friday, Lebron goes 12th overall to the Los Angeles Angels. LSU outfielder Derek Curiel is taken one pick above Lebron by the Washington Nationals in McDaniel’s draft forecast.
“With a new interim head of baseball operations in John Mozeliak, who is mostly hands-off with the draft, the belief is that the scouts will get to make this pick. That doesn’t mean all prep upside because that’s not really what the board is giving them, but I could see the Angels selecting a college hitter with less polish and more upside, such as Lebron, who is a nice value here.” –Kiley McDaniel, ESPN.com.
Could Justin Lebron be a top-10 pick in 2026 MLB draft?
For The Win, part of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group, unveiled its 2026 mock draft on Friday. Wajih AlBaroudi has Lebron going as high as No. 8 overall to the Athletics and said:
“Lebron is a dynamic athlete whose only glaring flaw is his patience at the plate. If he can clean that up, he’ll be a fixture atop the A’s lineup.”
Keith Law’s final mock draft for The Athletic (subscription required for full access) has Lebron taken with the 15th overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Justin Lebron career stats at Alabama
Lebron batted .313 with a .414 on base percentage, 45 home runs, 39 doubles and 158 RBIs in three seasons for the Crimson Tide. He stole 69 bases in his collegiate career. This past season, Lebron hit .277 with 16 homers and 13 doubles as Alabama won 42 games and reached the College World Series for the first time since 1999.
Where to watch the 2026 MLB draft: time, TV channel, streaming
The 2026 Major League Baseball Draft begins Saturday in Philadelphia. Per Major League Baseball, rounds 1-4 start at noon CT. The first 10 picks will be televised on NBC and will stream on Peacock. Picks 11-40 can be seen on MLB Network beginning at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Rounds 5-20 begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. CT and can be seen on MLB.com.
Follow us at @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook, for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
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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