Alabama
Jumbo Package: Saban sets NFL Draft records, DeBoer tosses mullets
Happy Monday, everyone. Baseball took two of three from Ole Miss over the weekend while softball dropped two of three to Tennessee. And, Nate Oats added another key transfer.
Should Mark Sears and Grant Nelson come back and not go pro — an expectation but not a certainty considering how last year went with Charles Bediako and Jahvon Quinerly — Oats and co. will have one of the deepest rosters in the country.
Philon was an offensive force in Alabama. Coaches couldn’t scheme ways to stop him during his junior season (35 points per game). MaxPreps and Gatorade both named Philon the state’s player of the year. He can attack the paint and shoot the 3-pointer, making it hard not to imagine him developing with Holloway in Oats’ system. The Tide could return a starting backcourt with Sears and Latrell Wrightsell, offering both underclassmen cover.
With Sears and Nelson’s spots held for them, Oats still has one open roster spot that will ostensibly go to a big man. Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi was in town over the weekend, but is still taking visits.
Alabama track and field closed the regular season in fine fashion.
Alabama track and field concluded the outdoor regular season at the Desert Heat Classic with four first-place finishes from Corde Long (men’s 400-meter hurdles), Allan Kiplagat (men’s steeplechase), Caelyn Harris (women’s long jump) and Brenda Tuwei (women’s 3,000-meter).
Long highlighted the Crimson Tide’s regular season finale, grabbing a first-place finish in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season at 49.26. Shortly thereafter, Kiplagat also returned a first-place finish in the men’s steeplechase with a personal-best 9:21.78.
SEC Championships are this weekend in Gainesville. The men finish the regular season ranked 2nd in the nation behind Texas A&M, while the womens’ team is 15th.
Alabama finished with ten players taken in the NFL Draft. Almost as encouraging: Kalen DeBoer’s former team matched that. From Katie Windham:
If opposing fanbases around the country and SEC were hoping for a dropoff in talent and production going from Saban to Kalen DeBoer, this weekend’s NFL draft proved they could be in for a rude awakening. Saban and DeBoer tied with 10 total selections, trailing only Michigan (13) and Texas (11) for number of players taken in this year’s draft.
DeBoer’s former Huskies also matched Alabama’s first-round total with three apiece (Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze and Troy Fautanu), which tied a program record at Washington. It was the first time multiple Huskies were selected in the first round since 2015.
Katie also notes that 27 of the 32 NFL franchises used a first round pick on an Alabama player in Saban’s 17 years. Out of all the other incredible stats, that one may be the most impressive.
It was clear that Saban loved his last team, even if he wondered if they were talented enough to win a national title. They damn near did, but this weekend we got a peek into why he felt the way he did about them.
“We had a couple of Alabama players come through on 30 visits,” Sabo said, “and so every time one came through, I’d make sure I’d peel off and say, ‘Hey, man, what do you think about Will?’ And at first they get kind of shocked, like ‘What’re you talking about?’ And then like, ‘Oh, my God. He’s like’ – I felt he was part of that team. He’s not an isolated player, where in some programs they’re isolated and maybe distant and maybe not necessarily connected to the team. And I never got that from the sources that I talked with at Alabama, the sources our other scouts talked to at Alabama and then (special-teams coordinator Matt) Daniels interviewing him through his processes as well.”
There’s something poetic about the Saban era ending with one of his kickers getting drafted, isn’t there?
Reichard gave Saban a record that will likely never be matched: during his Alabama tenure, someone was drafted at every position on the field, including long snapper, kicker and punter. If that wasn’t enough, Jaylen Key became Saban’s first Mr. Irrelevant.
“It means everything; that’s part of the title,” Key said on a video conference with New York-area reporters. “You just have to take it and lean into it. For me, I’m definitely going to lean into every bit of it. I’m Mr. Irrelevant this year, and we’re going to make something shake, for sure.”
The Jets selected Key with the final pick in the seventh round, No. 257 overall — the franchise’s first Mr. Irrelevant choice since 1969. That year, they picked last after winning Super Bowl III. This time, it was a compensatory selection.
The Mr. Irrelevant title has grown in stature in recent years, thanks, in large part, to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who helped his team to the Super Bowl last season after being the final player drafted in 2022.
“We’ve got some shoes to fill behind Brock, but I can tell you this: We’re going to make something shake,” he said with a smile.
Last, Kalen and Nate got to experience the FloraBama mullet toss.
You have to wonder what Kalen thought of that, eh? Looks like they had some fun.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.