Alabama
Grant Nelson to use final year of eligibility, return to Alabama basketball
Alabama’s 2024-25 roster will have another major starter back. Grant Nelson announced on his Instagram Monday afternoon that he plans to use his fifth and final year of eligibility in Tuscaloosa.
It’s the second year in a row Nelson contemplated a future in the NBA Draft but ultimately didn’t keep his name in the pool of eligible players; he rescinded his name last spring before transferring to Nate Oats and the Tide; The deadline for this year’s draft passed on April 28.
A 6-foot-11 forward, Nelson posted 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 blocks per game — he led Alabama in rebounds and blocks. He battled a leg injury in December and struggled through foul trouble consistently. But the lottery-pick potential that coaches saw in Nelso manifested sporadically like a 20-point outing at Georiga or 22 points, eight rebounds and six blocks against Florida.
Most notably, Nelson turned around an NCAA Tournament slump with a historic showing against North Carolina in the Sweet 16. He scored 24 points, including eight in a row late to upset the Tar Heels and propelled the Tide to its first Final Four in school history. Nelson, who was named to the All-Region team, followed up with 19 against eventual champion UConn.
Alabama now has two pieces of its healthy, late-season starting lineup back: Nelson and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Aaron Estrada graduated and Rylan Griffen transferred to Kansas, leaving UA to wait for Mark Sears’ decision. UA’s frontcourt depth has taken a hit since the season ended with backup Nick Pringle transferring back home to South Carolina and Mohamed Wague departing after one season.
Oats added three pieces via the transfer portal, all guards, and doesn’t appear to be done looking for more talent. The Tide hosted Rutgers transfer Clifford Omoruyi on Monday. Incoming four-star freshman Aiden Sherrell is also listed at 6-foot-10.
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com.
UPDATE — Zyan Gibson took to social media to dispute initial reports of his decommitment.
His statement read, “Earlier today, a post was shared about my decommitment. I want to clarify that this message was the result of a miscommunication. I’m standing by my pledge I made to Bama. I will be signing with Bama on Dec. 3rd. At this point I will not be doing any interviews. Roll Tide.”
Earlier today, a post was shared about my decommitment. I want to clarify that this message was the result of a miscommunication. I’m standing by my pledge I made to Bama. I will be signing with Bama on Dec. 3rd. At this point I will not be doing any interviews. Roll Tide!!
— Zyan “z7evenn” Gibson (@ZyanGibson) December 1, 2025
After a strong weekend on the recruiting trail, consisting of two new commitments for the 2026 class, Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide staff received a bit of bad news late Sunday night.
4-Star cornerback Zyan Gibson, an in-state prospect from Gadsden, Alabama, officially announced his decommitment from the Tide on November 30, according to Hayes Fawcett of Rivals. Gibson was Alabama’s earliest commit of the class, originally making his decision in December of 2024.
🚨BREAKING🚨 4-star CB Zyan Gibson has decommitted from Alabama, @Hayesfawcett3 reports.
Read: https://t.co/DmUvw7qZRc pic.twitter.com/oJi3KLTepW
— Rivals (@Rivals) December 1, 2025
Prior to his original commitment, Gibson held offers from the likes of Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and many more. He took visits to both Tennessee and Ole Miss in June of this year, but has since made four return trips to Tuscaloosa this fall.
The 4-Star prospect had been expected to be a member of Alabama’s early signing group, but will now likely be making his pledge elsewhere. While it is unclear yet where Gibson is expected to commit, Tennessee is his second most visited school behind Alabama, so early indicators point to the Volunteers as a potential landing spot.
The Alabama native is a somewhat undersized prospect compared to what Alabama has recently targeted at the position as he stands just 6-foot, 174 lbs. Despite his smaller stature, Gibson is a speedy cornerback that is sticky in coverage.
He is ranked as the No. 5 player at his position in the nation, and the No. 4 player in the state, according to 247Sports’ composite ranking.
Although it is certainly a loss for the class, missing out on such a high caliber talent, Alabama still holds commitments from three other defensive backs, all of which are more in line with the body type that the current Crimson Tide staff has targeted since taking over.
- CB Zyan Gibson, 6-foot, 174. lbs. – Gadsden, Alabama (Committed 12/24/2024)
- CB Jorden Edmonds, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 03/26/2025)
- EDGE Jamarion Matthews, 6-foot-2, 240 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 02/21/2025)
- EDGE Kamhariyan Johnson, 6-foot-4, 260 lbs. – Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Committed 04/12/2025)
- OL Chris Booker, 6-foot-4, 285 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 02/20/2025)
- QB Jett Thomalla, 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. – Omaha, Nebraska (Committed 06/17/2025)
- DL JJ Finch, 6-foot-3, 260 lbs. – Indianapolis, Indiana (Committed 06/22/2025)
- RB Javari Barnett, 5-foot-11, 205 lbs. – Tampa Bay, Florida (Committed 06/23/2025)
- S Rihyael Kelley, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Committed 06/23/2025)
- SN Eli Deutsch, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Franklin, Wisconsin (Committed 06/24/2025)
- RB Ezavier Crowell, 5-foot-10, 210 lbs. – Jackson, Alabama (Committed 06/26/2025)
- TE Mack Sutter, 6-foot-5, 230 lbs. – Dunlap, Illinois (Committed 06/26/2025)
- LB Zay Hall, 6-foot-2, 222 lbs. – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Committed 06/27/2025)
- LB Xavier Griffin, 6-foot-3, 200 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 06/29/2025)
- WR Owen Cabell, 6-foot-2, 201 lbs. – Nashville, Tennessee (Committed 06/30/2025)
- WR Brian Williams, Jr., 6-foot-4, 185 lbs. – Lake Mary, Florida (Committed 07/01/2025)
- WR Cederian Morgan, 6-foot-4, 220 lbs – Alexander City, Alabama (Committed 07/02/2025)
- DL Nolan Wilson, 6-foot-4, 250 lbs. – Picayune, Mississippi (Committed 07/04/2025)
- S Jireh Edwards, 6-foot-2, 210 lbs. – Baltimore, Maryland (Committed 07/05/2025)
- QB Tayden Kaawa, 6-foot-5, 235 lbs. – Orem, Utah (Committed 07/22/2025)
- OT Bear Fretwell, 6-foot-6, 295 lbs. – Brooklet, Georgia (Committed 07/25/25)
- OT Jared Doughty, 6-foot-5, 300 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 10/05/2025)
- EDGE Corey Howard, 6-foot-6, 245 lbs. – Valdosta, Georgia (Committed 10/19/2025)
- OL Tyrell Miller, 6-foot-5, 305 lbs. – College of San Mateo (Committed 11/29/2025)
- TE Jude Cascone, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 11/30/2025)
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer reacts to Alabama’s Iron Bowl win
Kalen DeBoer said Alabama’s resilience and clutch plays made the difference in the Crimson Tide’s Iron Bowl victory.
AUBURN, AL – Kalen DeBoer made a gutsy call. Then Alabama’s coach made a funny.
Late in a tie game in the Iron Bowl, why did DeBoer go for 4th-and-2 instead of electing for a short go-ahead field goal?
DeBoer explained it with a bit of comedic relief.
“I figured it was 29 yards shorter than the last time we needed a touchdown here,” DeBoer deadpanned.
Good one!
DeBoer must know his Iron Bowl history. He was still coaching Washington when Jalen Milroe completed his 4th-and-a-prayer 31-yard strike to Isaiah Bond in 2023 to send Nick Saban out a victor in his final Iron Bowl.
Now, Ty Simpson joins this rivalry’s lore.
Alabama needed six feet to move the chains on fourth down. Simpson got six yards with his touchdown toss to Isaiah Horton with 3:50 remaining, good for the winning score in a 27-20 victory.
“The fact I get to say that I led a game-winning drive in the Iron Bowl, that’s something I’ll tell my kids’ kids,” Simpson said. “Just super incredible.”
Even if Alabama’s performance — the Tide were outgained by 131 yards — could best be described as something other than incredible.
Alabama probably on safe side of CFP bubble after Iron Bowl win
DeBoer described this victory the way most coaches would.
He called it gritty, not ugly. A show of resilience, not a cause for concern.
Sure beats losing, anyway.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” DeBoer said. “There’s some teams that hope they can find a way. I think our guys really understand that if they get in these spots, they can make it happen.”
A third loss would have kept No. 10 Alabama (10-2) out of the SEC Championship and out of the College Football Playoff for the second straight year.
This win probably keeps Alabama on the safe side of the bubble, for now anyway.
A triumph against Georgia next weekend in Atlanta would remove all doubt and clinch a playoff bid. Depending on where Alabama falls in the rankings this week, a competitive loss could do the trick, too, although the situation would become dicey if Brigham Young beats Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship and turns that conference into a two-bid league, or if Alabama loses the SEC Championship by a lopsided score.
“We’ve got quality-strength wins and some wins on the road,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got more than a playoff-caliber football team.”
Kalen DeBoer joins coaches pitching his bubble team for CFP
The coaches of fellow bubble teams Miami, Vanderbilt and Texas all made their pitches, too. None of those teams is headed for a conference championship game, though. That won’t stop their lobbying.
“To do anything other than allow these guys to compete for it all would be just an injustice to the work they’ve done,” Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea said after a win against Tennessee pushed his Commodores to 10-2.
Texas’ Steve Sarkisian warmed up that language one day earlier, saying it would “be a disservice to our sport” if the committee rejected a 9-3 Longhorns team that beat Vanderbilt and also owns wins against Texas A&M (11-1) and Oklahoma (10-2), making Texas the only team with three top-15 triumphs.
Miami’s pitch is wrapped up in its head-to-head win against Notre Dame, a team with which it shares a 10-2 record.
“Head-to-head is always the No. 1 criteria regarding anything (in) athletics,” Miami’s Mario Cristobal said in his pitch.
I hate to be the one to tell Cristobal, but the No. 1 criterion is whatever the committee desires it to be to justify a particular choice.
“There’s not a question in my mind” that Alabama is a playoff team, DeBoer said.
He could say that with a straight face and conviction in his voice, because Simpson made good on DeBoer’s 4th-and-2 call, and then Alabama forced a fumble to seal the victory.
That prevented the need for any 4th-and-31 heroics on this night, and DeBoer got to try out his joke.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
The Iron Bowl is always one of the most anticipated dates on the sporting calendar, but this year’s iteration should be quite the spectacle.
Auburn is in the midst of a disappointing season, but the Tigers could end Alabama’s bid to make the College Football Playoff with the upset.
Those stakes should make for quite an atmosphere inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. There’s nothing that Auburn could use more than a win over Alabama right now.
Iron Bowl: Alabama vs. Auburn odds, prediction
Auburn’s record sits at 5-6, and the Tigers already fired head coach Hugh Freeze, but things aren’t as bad as they seem on the Plains.
The Tigers just couldn’t find a way to win close games in 2025. War Eagle went 0-5 in one-score games this season, and four of them (Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Vanderbilt) came against teams that spent most of the season inside the Top 25.
The problem for the Tigers has been consistent all season. They just can’t score.
Auburn’s defense is only conceding 20.4 points per game, against an elite schedule no less, but the offense is averaging just 23.9 points per contest. That’s one way to ensure you lose a lot of close games.
The Tigers won’t be the only impressive defensive team on the field on Saturday, however.
Alabama’s offense has received plenty of praise over the course of the season thanks to the emergence of quarterback Ty Simpson, but it’s the other side of the ball that has turned the Tide into a contender. According to SP+, Alabama boasts the sixth-best defense in the country, ten spots better than Auburn.
With two great defenses, one bad offense, and another under heaps of pressure in a must-win situation, this game could be a pressure-cooker. The Iron Bowl is a place to expect the unexpected, but this one sets up to be a rock fight, which puts value on the Under 48.5.
The Play: Under 48.5 (-110, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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