With spring practice kicking off, there is some actual news and quotes starting to seep out into the mediasphere. First up, we got an interview from coach DeBoer:
Speaking to reporters after he came off the practice field in Tuscaloosa Monday, DeBoer was asked what the winner of the competition will show him.
“It’s got to be a guy who can deliver the ball, command the huddle, command everything we do with the team,” DeBoer said. “That presence, that belief and confidence in your signal caller. It starts with a lot of that — just the belief. The belief comes because you’re making the throws and you’re getting the ball in a fashion where they can go make their plays and reap the rewards of all the work they’ve put in.”
This is pretty similar to what Nick Saban always said in QB battle years – essentially, confidence is king. The guy who can make the throws, be confident he’ll make those throws, and his teammates have that same confidence in him will be the guy.
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And hey, AL.com even got us a couple of clips of the three QBs tossing the ball.
Alabama football fans are more concerned about depth at offensive tackle. When Kadyn Proctor returns, there will still be doubts about the right tackle slot. Even if Wilkin Formby is an improved player from last season and locks down the right tackle starting role, depth is a legitimate worry. On Monday Kalen DeBoer stated that redshirt sophomore Olaus Alinen and 5-star freshman, Michael Carroll would also work at multiple positions this spring, including tackle.
I think Michael Carroll could very well win the starting RT job just as well as he could win a guard job. He’s the kind of freshman that I don’t expect will be kept off the field. I’m also pretty interested in Alinen playing tackle, as he does have the body type, but we’ve seen so little of him so far.
DeBoer also gave us an injury run down, and this list may have been what contributed to his declaration of a “modified” A-Day this year.
The Tide also added one more offensive tackle as a transfer walk-on:
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Offensive tackle Jayden Hobson was included on the Crimson Tide’s roster update shared by the school’s NIL collective, Yea Alabama, on Sunday. Hobson spent the 2024 season at South Alabama after beginning his collegiate career at Mississippi State. He did not see the field at either of his stops, redshirting in 2023. He will be a walk-on for the Crimson Tide.
After transferring to South Alabama in 2024, Hobson didn’t contribute to the Jaguars last year. He left the team in fall camp “with intentions to drop out of school and enter the workforce,” according to AL.com. But now, he will provide Alabama with needed depth.
A Tuscaloosa, Alabama native, Hobson committed to Mississippi State over South Miss, West Virginia and others after his senior season at Hillcrest High School. A 3-star recruit in the 2023 class, Hobson was rated as the 61st-best player in Alabama and the No. 103 offensive tackle, per the On3 Industry rankings. Before playing for coach Jamie Mitchell at Hillcrest in 2022, Hobson previously attended Paul W. Bryant High School, located in Tuscaloosa.
After playing for Mississippi State and then transferring to South Alabama, Hobson does at least have SEC-level practice field experience, and will be a good player to have rounding out the scout teams.
Out For Spring:
Alex Asparuhov, kicker/punter
David Bird, long-snapper
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Bubba Hampton, receiver
Fatutoa Henry, defensive line
Domani Jackson, defensive back
Deontae Lawson, linebacker
Danny Lewis Jr., tight end
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Keon Sabb, defensive back
Limited For Spring:
Justin Jefferson, linebacker
Kadyn Proctor, offensive line
James Smith, defensive line
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This one is a pretty big list, but in a lot of cases, it gives some younger players a chance to shine. I’m very interested to see if freshman TE Marshall Pritchett can take advantage of Danny Lewis being out, and to see who steps up as the 3rd cornerback behind Domani Jackson.
Finally, DeBoer also talked a little about new OC, Ryan Grubb in a recent interview:
“It’s funny; I haven’t spent much time with him. We’ve been so busy. He’s trying to dive into getting the offense and the staff and getting to know the players. I’m busy doing things, too, with the team and a lot of engagements and meetings and so forth. I think this is Year 13 or 14. I’ve lost track now. But going back to 2007 when our first year was together. There’s been a break or two in between. But it’s someone I really trust. We see the game similarly.
“We’ve talked through — because we’ve been in the staff room together for so many years — the things that we value, what it takes to win, what it takes to be a great offense, how that all meshes and comes together. He’s going to put his stamp on it. I think the coaching staff this last year, led by Nick Sheridan as the OC, did a great job really in the transition. It’s hard being a first-year team, first-year coordinator, staff, coming together and putting it all in place and learning your personnel. They did a good job setting the stage, and I know Ryan is going to do an amazing job here taking it and continuing to move it forward. But yeah, he’s off and running.”
With a full year under him, a roster committed to him, and his original intended coaching staff, all signs point to DeBoer seeing legitimate improvement in year 2. Let’s hope that winds up being the case!
The Alabama teen charged in a heinous knife attack on his parents in their sleepy private community hissed that he was “gonna kill” his dad as he allegedly stabbed him — as new photos show the blood-soaked front porch where his butchered mom died.
The grisly scene unfolded on home surveillance footage Sunday night along Augustine Drive in the handsome Belforest complex — which captured the 17-year-old threatening his father, while allegedly knifing him.
“You can hear both of them coming out of the house, and there’s like one scream from the mom,” neighbor Shawn Scurry, 51, told The Post Wednesday.
“Then the dad is arguing with the [son] — and when I say arguing, I mean like, ‘Why are you doing this?’
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“He’s basically saying, ‘I don’t want to die. Please stop. No.’ And then he’s repeating, ‘Somebody help me, please, help me’ very loudly,” Scurry said of the clip.
Samantha Baker (left) was allegedly stabbed to death by her 17-year-old son — as her husband, Lance Baker (right), begged the boy to stop the sickening attack. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker
At one point, the audio captures the son “telling [the dad] he was gonna kill him.”
“Those words are in the video,” she said.
Meanwhile, a large pool of blood stained the front entrance of a neighbor’s home where cops say 37-year-old Samantha Baker was butchered around 9 p.m. Sunday.
Another haunting image exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead.
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The bloodbath began after Samantha and her 46-year-old husband Lance Baker got into a heated argument with their 17-year-old son over a disciplinary issue inside their family home, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Captain Justin Correa told The Post Wednesday.
That’s when the boy — whose name is being withheld by police — turned a kitchen knife on his parents, allegedly stabbing them both “multiple times,” according to Correa.
A large pool of blood stained the front entrance of the Belforest community home in Baldwin County, where cops say Samantha Baker was found dead from multiple stab wounds Sunday night. Obtained by NY PostAnother haunting video clip exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead. Obtained by NY Post
The parents fled outside in a desperate bid to escape — but the attack continued.
Lance’s spine-chilling screams could be heard as he ran door to door down the block, leaving bloodied handprints on neighbors’ front doors while seeking help — with his son right on his tail, according to the traumatized neighbor.
“It was like fighting off a bee that keeps stinging you,” Scurry said, and claimed that another neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the teen repeatedly stabbing his father outside another nearby home.
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Correa confirmed that doorbell camera footage of the assault had been handed over to police, and said at least “a few” of the neighbors were not home when Lance was looking for help.
Lance only “went to doors where people were on vacation — that’s why they didn’t answer, and that’s why he was becoming helpless,” Scurry claimed.
Scurry, who was home at the time, only became slightly aware of the horror unfolding when she spotted the Bakers’ dog wandering around her front door.
“I walked with the dog back to their house, rang their doorbell. Nobody answered, and I went around to the garage,” she recalled.
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That’s when she heard cries in the distance.
“I heard … ‘Help me.’ I couldn’t find where it was coming from,” Scurry said, adding that she went back into her home after that.
The bloodbath began after Samantha and Lance got into a heated argument with the knife-wielding son over a disciplinary issue, according to authorities. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker
The teen eventually retreated to his family’s home and called 911, said authorities, who described the attack as an isolated domestic matter.
Cops arrested him at the home without incident, according to Correa, who pushed back on reports that the alleged killer barricaded himself inside the house.
As emergency crews flooded their typically quiet street, Scurry said she stepped outside again and saw Samantha’s body before the coroner arrived.
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“I saw her face down with stab wounds all over her back,” the shaken neighbor said.
Samantha, a realtor, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lance, a US Army Reserve Battalion Commander with the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion in Mobile, was flown to a local hospital in critical condition, according to cops.
Nest camera footage from a neighboring home allegedly captured chilling audio of Samantha’s final moments — along with Lance’s frantic pleas for the teen to drop the knife. Obtained by NY Post
As of Wednesday, the father of two was still in the hospital, where his condition had become stable, Correa said.
The teen, who will be tried as an adult, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder. He is being held in jail on a $1 million bond after his arraignment on Monday.
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The family’s younger teen son was not at the home at the time of the attack, police said.
Jan 8, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Tony Brown (2) against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 CFP national championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Mac Jones joined “Bussin With The Boys” and was asked who his craziest teammate ever was, and he went back to his Alabama days to highlight Tony Brown.
Brown is a former Alabama cornerback.
“There’s this guy, Tony Brown,” Jones said. “I don’t know if you guys know him. Look him up on there. His name’s Crazy Tony, but he was a stud at Alabama. He played on that defense with like Daron Payne, like all those guys, Minka (Fitzpatrick), everybody. He played in the league for a little bit. He was the man, like scout team, me and him. Every day, like going at it, like pretty much fighting. He was just crazy, dude. I’d throw a dig route over the middle, and he would just crush our scout team receiver. Like, Mac Hereford… he would go over the middle and Crazy Tony would just crush him. Saban would just look the other way. I’m like, dude, he just got smoked. Like, what are we doing? It’s like same thing, fighting at practice and stuff. But he was a great teammate. He just had his thing on the field where it was like he just blacked out. It wasn’t because he was a bad guy or anything. That’s what he does. He goes and knocks people out.”
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Brown played for Alabama from 2014 to 2017, and he was a part of two National Championship teams. He finished his career at Alabama with 89 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions before moving on to the NFL.
Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have landed a commitment from Ryquan Butler, he announced Tuesday on social media.
An in-state prospect, Butler is Alabama’s fourth commitment of the 2028 cycle.
At the moment, Butler is currently unranked as a recruit, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, but that is likely to change in the near future ahead of his upcoming junior season at Alabama’s Loachapoka High School. There, Butler plays a number of different roles, but likely projects as a linebacker at the next level.
Following the commitment of Butler, Alabama’s 2028 class now ranks No. 2 nationally, per 247Sports. Butler is also now Alabama’s second 2028 linebacker commitment where he joins Dustin Henry out of St. Frances Academy in Maryland, as well as the Crimson Tide’s first from in-state.
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