Alabama
Jumbo Package: SEC Media Days schedule, questions for Alabama football
Happy Monday, everyone. With 47 days to kickoff, Creg Stephenson looks back at a 47 yard field goal to upset Tennessee back in 1990.
Rarely has an Alabama football victory been more unlikely than on Oct. 20, 1990.
On that day at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., the Crimson Tide scored a 9-6 win over previously unbeaten Tennessee behind Philip Doyle’s 47-yard field goal as time expired. Alabama entered the game at 2-3 under first-year coach Gene Stallings, and had lost several of its top offensive weapons to injury early in the season.
“The only ones who thought we had a chance to win that football game were in our locker room,” Stallings told reporters afterward, and he was probably close to correct.
Alabama updated its roster with new heights and weights, and two offensive linemen notably went in opposite directions.
No. 71 – IOL Kam Dewberry (6-4, 332) -13
This weight loss had to happen. Dewberry played a little too heavy (335) at Texas A&M, and then reported to Alabama weighing 345 pounds. Now he sits down at 332, which should help his functionality and conditioning. He’s in a heated battle with Geno VanDeMark to take over for Tyler Booker at left guard, but I’d say he’s the favorite right now.
No. 74 – OT Kadyn Proctor (6-7, 366) +6
Easily the most discouraging development in the latest roster update. I wouldn’t say it was unexpected when you consider that Proctor was limited all throughout the spring and wasn’t able to do much, but he was still too heavy at 369 last year before dropping to 360 in the spring. The hope (for me, at least) was to see him get down in the 350-355 range at least. Instead, he’s heading in the opposite direction. Maybe that’ll change before Week 1.
Here’s hoping that Kadyn will be in shape and ready to reach his ceiling in year three. As Stephenson notes, much is expected of him.
3. Who is the SEC’s best offensive lineman?
Answer: Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
Proctor is technically on his second stint in Tuscaloosa following a brief transfer back home to Iowa during the winter of 2023-24, but he showed last season why he was so highly touted coming out of high school. He’s physical and aggressive, and uses his long arms and mammoth frame to swallow up opposing pass-rushers.
SEC Media Days kick off this week. The first head coach to take the podium will be Lane Kiffin just after lunch, which should start things off in amusing fashion. Per usual, Alabama’s session will be on Wednesday.
Wednesday, July 16
8-11:50 a.m.
Alabama (Kalen DeBoer, Tim Keenan III, Deontae Lawson, Kadyn Proctor)
Mississippi State (Jeff Lebby, Blake Shapen, Isaac Smith, Brenen Thompson)
Noon-3:45 p.m.
Florida (Billy Napier, Caleb Banks, Jake Slaughter, DJ Lagway)
Oklahoma (Brent Venables, John Mateer, Robert Spears-Jennings, R Mason Thomas)
Kalen DeBoer will of course get plenty of questions about the quarterback battle, but the lines of scrimmage and getting back to the standard that Alabama fans have become spoiled to will also be on the table.
It’s not a big leap to think the defense can take an even bigger step forward in 2025. But the pass rush lacked at times in 2024. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack often had to get creative to dial up pressure in his first season running the defense. Alabama finished with 25 sacks, nowhere near the top 10 in college football. Boise State tallied the most with 55. Sacks aren’t everything, but it’s still a stat worth improving for Alabama.
LT Overton figures to be the top pass rusher. He was a season ago. Overton taking the next step in his game (and getting sacks) could go a long way in improving the pass rush. But Alabama will need someone to pair with him so offenses can’t focus on blocking only Overton.
Qua Russaw has the potential to be that guy opposite Overton creating havoc for offenses. Or perhaps, someone else can step up.
Can Kalen DeBoer get Tide in the CFP?
The first-year results under Kalen DeBoer weren’t unexpected, but it was still a disappointment for the Tide faithful. The losses to Oklahoma and Michigan near the end of the season were salt in the wound. Alabama is more talented this season than last. Though many will pay attention to the perceived quarterback battle between Ty Simpson and Austin Mack, the big-picture question is what matters: What happens if DeBoer misses the playoff with one of the nation’s more talented rosters?
This next excerpt is just for your amusement.
4. Georgia: Alabama
The last coach Georgia fans ever wanted to see on the other sideline is doing television. Nick Saban was 5-1 against Kirby Smart, but even with Saban in his first year of retirement last season, Alabama still beat Georgia in a wild 41-34 game in Tuscaloosa the final weekend of September. Georgia has lost nine of the past 10 games in the series and hasn’t beaten Alabama in the regular season since 2007, Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa, when the Mark Richt-coached Bulldogs won 26-23 in overtime. Georgia has vaulted to elite status under Smart, but a second straight loss to DeBoer — especially with this year’s game being played in Athens — wouldn’t sit well with anybody in Athens. — Chris Low
Vanderbilt is listed as Alabama’s. Let’s hope the men are ready for that one.
Last, Deion Sanders made some waves talking about the modern “uniform.”
The head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes wants NFL-style uniform violation fines brought to the college football world. He is particularly bothered by players who wear their pants too short.
“Let’s do something about the uniforms,” Sanders said at Big 12 Media Days. “We’ve got guys in biker shorts. That makes me sick because I’m a football guy — I played this game at a high level and I have so much respect for this game. How can we allow guys out there in biker shorts, no knee pads, no nothing, literally pants up under their thighs, and that’s cool?”
Sanders, who is entering his third year at Colorado, said that officials could enforce the violations by throwing flags at players who don’t wear knee pads. However, he would prefer if players were straight up fined.
Thoughts?
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
Alabama and South Carolina are set to meet on Saturday in a game between programs moving in vastly different directions. Still, if there’s going to be a turnaround story for the Gamecocks, the injury report will loom large.
South Carolina has lost two straight and four of its last five, with the lone win in that span coming against Kentucky. Alabama, meanwhile, has won six straight after dropping its season opener, including four straight over ranked opponents.
So what will the injury situation look like? Well, the initial availability report released by the SEC on Wednesday night helps clue us in. Let’s take a look.
Alabama Crimson Tide
South Carolina Gamecocks
Perhaps the biggest name to watch for Alabama recently was running back Jam Miller, who suffered a concussion prior to last week’s Tennessee game. After going through protocol, he was cleared just in time for the game and managed to log 12 carries, albeit for just 15 yards and one score.
With him healthy, the attention shifts elsewhere. The Tide had five players who were ruled out for the Tennessee game: linebacker Qua Russaw, linebacker Jah-Marien Latham, linebacker Cayden Jones, receiver Derek Meadows and defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman.
Those players have been out for varying lengths of time. Meadows, for instance, suffered a concussion against Missouri two weeks ago.
On the other side, South Carolina has been without a handful of players, while several others have been listed as game-time decisions or available in recent weeks.
The players that were out for last weekend’s contest against Oklahoma were receiver Brian Rowe, offensive lineman Nolan Hay, offensive lineman Cason Henry and defensive lineman Davonte Miles. It’ll be interesting to see if any can return against Alabama.
South Carolina and Alabama are set to meet at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
Alabama
Alabama board seeks to ban books that ‘positively’ depict trans themes from library youth sections
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama board is seeking to prohibit public libraries from placing books that “positively” depict transgender themes and topics in teen and children’s sections.
The Alabama Public Library Service Board of Directors is considering a proposed rule change that expands the existing requirement for youth sections to be free of “material deemed inappropriate for children.” The new proposal said that includes any material that “positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders.”
The Alabama proposal is the latest salvo in the national fight over library content. The state board on Tuesday held a lengthy and sometimes heated and emotional public hearing ahead of next month’s expected vote.
Opponents called the proposal blatantly discriminatory and an attempt to impose one viewpoint on all Alabamians at the expense of trans youth and their families.
“These changes do not protect children — they police ideas,” said Matthew Layne, a past president of the Alabama Library Association.
Supporters of the proposal said parents who want their children to read the books can get them in other places.
“Removing trans books is not book-banning,” Julia Cleland, a member of the group Eagle Forum, told the board. Cleland said she would prefer the books be removed entirely from public libraries, not just youth sections.
John Wahl, the chairman of the library board, said he expects the board to approve the rule change, or an amended version of it, when they meet next month. He said libraries could stock the materials in adult sections where parents could access them for their children.
“We want parents to be confident that the children’s sections of Alabama libraries are age appropriate, that their children are not going to stumble against sexually explicit content,” Wahl said. Wahl is also chair of the Alabama Republican Party.
Some speakers said public libraries must serve all types of families, including those with trans children and adults.
Alyx Kim-Yohn, a librarian in north Alabama, told the board that as a queer teenager, they were isolated and bullied to the point of writing a suicide note.
“What saved me was reading literature that had people like me in it. What saved me was finding other queer folks who had the opportunity to grow up and be queer adults, which not all of us get,” Kim-Yohn said.
Other speakers said they didn’t want their child or grandchild to see books suggesting that gender can be changed.
The three-hour meeting ended with pointed disagreements over the motivation for the proposal.
“It’s politically motivated. It is taking away control from local libraries who are appointed by local governing bodies,” board member Ronald A. Snider said. Snider accused Wahl of using his position as Republican Party chairman to drum up support of the proposal.
Wahl said the proposal was in response to concerns and that his goal was “to put parents in charge.”
If the Alabama change is adopted, a local library could lose state funding if the board decides it is not compliant. The Alabama library board this spring voted to withhold state funding from the Fairhope Public Library because of some of the books available in the teen section of the library.
The Alabama proposal comes amid a wave of legislation and regulations in Republican-controlled states targeting libraries.
Kasey Meehan, the director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America, said this is not the first time they’ve seen a state government “attempt to remove youth access to books with LGBTQ+ themes.” She noted an Idaho law that restricted access to books with content considered “harmful to minors.”
“Policies that target LGBTQ themes in libraries are not only discriminatory but a disaster for libraries and readers,” Meehan said. “These policies feed on ignorance and fear-mongering against queer and trans people, and diminish the ability of libraries to effectively serve all within their communities.”
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