Alabama will face a brutal 2024 schedule in the first season of the Kalen DeBoer era. The ultra-competitive SEC just got even tougher with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma, and the Crimson Tide will still go on the road to play a Big Ten opponent in Wisconsin.

That game in Madison will be part of a challenging September stretch in which Alabama will play the Badgers as well as the Georgia Bulldogs, who may be the preseason no. 1 team in the country. It will help that Bama gets Georgia in Tuscaloosa, and that these two games will be separated by an off week. 

The Tide will also have a tricky path to navigate as they close the season. Though the Iron Bowl is rarely an issue in Tuscaloosa, Auburn could be improved in year two under Hugh Freeze. Additionally, Alabama will travel to Oklahoma the week prior, making this a tough two-game stint. 

These two groupings in September and November respectively could prove to be tough obstacles for Bama. Alabama’s most challenging stretch of the season, however, will be a month-long gauntlet right in the middle of the season. 

It will start with the Third Saturday in October, which will see the Tide look to restore its reign in Neyland Stadium. Bama righted the ship in this rivalry in Bryant-Denny last season, but now it returns to Knoxville for the first time since losing to the Vols in 2022. 

Alabama then hosts Missouri, who is considered by some to be a top-10 team heading into 2024. Can the Tigers repeat the success they had last season? If so, this will be a very tough game even at home coming off of a physical rivalry bout. 

Bama kicks off November with a much-needed bye week before heading to Baton Rouge to play in one of the most raucous environments in college football. The Tide generally fared well in Death Valley under Coach Saban, but fell in overtime in its last trip. Coach DeBoer and company will need to bring their best stuff to notch this road win. 

In this four-week stretch, Alabama will play three preseason top-15 teams, at least according to ESPN’s post-spring rankings. Tennessee and LSU could be the Tide’s two toughest road trips of the season, and they will be sandwiched around a home game against a top-10 caliber team. 

While it won’t be easy for Alabama to get the sweep in this stretch, Bama’s taxing schedule could prove to be worth it in the long run. As we enter the 12-team playoff era, the Tennessee-Missouri-LSU gauntlet will likely resemble the mountains Bama will have to summit to win national titles going forward.

A concerning video has surfaced allegedly featuring former Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis.

On Saturday, OnlyFans model MIA💞 on X posted an explicit video of a female chasing a male down a hallway in a hotel. The video includes a naked woman chasing after a man she alleges to be Lewis with the caption “We got a runner”. If you choose to view the video, you can watch it here on her X account.

In the post, Mia alleges that the individual in the video is former Alabama and current Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Terrell Lewis. Lewis went private on social media.

Lewis was a five-star, top-100 prospect from St. John’s High School in Washington, D.C when he signed with Alabama in 2016.

Lewis was instrumental in the Crimson Tide’s 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship win over the Georgia Bulldogs, with a crucial sack of Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm in overtime.

Lewis finished his collegiate career with 58 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three pass breakups, and one forced fumble in 26 games played at Alabama. He was drafted No. 84 (Round 3) by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2020 NFL draft. He was a member of the Rams Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Lewis spent the 2023 season with the Chicago Bears but did not record any stats. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2024 Free Agency cycle and is currently a member of the team.

This story will be updated as more details become available, or when Lewis responds to a request for a comment. 

Wyatt Fulton is the Brand Manager and DME for Tide 100.9, serving as an on-air host from 11:00 a.m. to noon CT every weekday and Sports Reporter covering Alabama Football and Alabama Men’s Basketball. For more coverage, follow him at @FultonW_ on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter. 

Florida softball hit the lottery when adding an Alabama shortstop transfer, Skylar Wallace. It appears Kevin O’Sullivan and Florida baseball have, as well, with Colby Shelton.

After breaking the Crimson Tide record for home runs by a freshman with 25, third baseman Shelton left Tuscaloosa for Gainesville. Shelton has played an essential role in getting the unseeded Gators through the Stillwater Regional and Clemson Super Regional and back to the College World Series for the second straight season.

MORE: Buy College World Series tickets with StubHub

The Florida shortstop has hammered 21 home runs, 55 RBI, and 58 runs scored while playing strong defense at shortstop for the Gators. Florida, the lone unseeded team in the CWS, is scheduled to play Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Saturday to open the CWS. A big part of why Shelton transferred to Florida was to try and win a national championship, which the Gators last did in 2017 and finished as runners-up last season.

“The Gators had a great season last year,” Shelton said. “This year, the goal is to win a natty.”

Here’s what you need to know about why Shelton transferred from Alabama to Florida, along with his stats and 2024 MLB Draft status:

Why did Colby Shelton transfer from Alabama to Florida?

Shelton decided to transfer from Alabama following the firing of coach Brad Bohannon. Bohannon was fired last May after he was found to have provided information about his team to bettors.

As a freshman, Shelton hit for a .300 batting average with 61 hits and 51 RBIs, mainly playing third base. His 25 home runs set an Alabama freshman record and tied for the third-most in Crimson Tide single-season history. His 25 home runs as a freshman tied Georgia’s Charlie Condon for most in SEC history for a freshman. His play earned many accolades, including a spot on the Freshman All-SEC Team and first-team Freshman All-America honors from D1Baseball.com.

“There was a whole new coaching staff at Alabama,” Shelton said. “I came here so that I could better my skill set.”

Shelton entered the transfer portal on June 14, 2023, and found his home in Gainesville with the Gators on June 22, 2023, while the Gators were still playing in Omaha for the CWS. The transfer also allowed him to shift from third base to shortstop with the Gators.

“Florida is a big-time school. With all of the guys that we have here and all of the postseason accolades of the team, this seemed like the best spot to be,” Shelton said.

Colby Shelton high school, recruiting

Shelton was a star at Bloomingdale High in Lithia, Florida, just two hours from Gainesville. He helped lead Bloomingdale to the Florida Class 6A state title in 2021 with a .405 batting average, seven doubles, a triple and five home runs across 27 games as a junior. He earned first-team all-conference honors as both a junior and senior.

As a recruit, Shelton was ranked as the No. 4 shortstop and No. 27 player overall in the state, according to Perfect Game, and was listed as the No. 83 player on Perfect Game’s ‘Top 500 Incoming Freshmen’ list for 2022-23.

Colby Shelton stats

Here’s a look at Shelton’s year-by-year stats:

• 2023 (Alabama): .300 batting average, .419 on-base percentage, 25 home runs, 51 RBI, 49 runs scored, 1.148 OPS (59 games played)
• 2024 (Florida): .257 batting average, .379 on-base percentage, 21 home runs, 55 RBI, 58 runs scored, .943 OPS (62 games played)
• Career: .277 batting average, .397 on-base percentage, 46 home runs, 106 RBI, 107 runs scored, 1.037 OPS (121 games played)

Is Colby Shelton draft eligible for the 2024 MLB Draft?

Despite being listed as a sophomore and part of the 2022 recruiting class, Shelton is eligible for the 2024 MLB Draft, which takes place during the All-Star break. MLB.com has Shelton ranked as the No. 135 overall prospect in the class.

Here’s the MLB.com scouting report on Shelton:

“Shelton’s carrying tool remains the power in his left-handed bat. When he showed up last fall with a more flattened out stroke, rather than his previous swing, which was much steeper in the zone, there was hope he might show more barrel consistency. He doesn’t have elite-level bat speed, but there’s at least average power for him to get to, and while the pop has shown up to an extent, the strikeout rate has hovered around the 25 percent he posted at Alabama. He does draw some walks to help offset it a little, but scouts are concerned about his ability to make enough contact to reach his power consistently.”

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