The 13th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide took a bad loss to the Birmingham Blazers on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Field. The Blazers scored seven times in the top of the 1st and coasted to an 11-2 victory. The teams played last Tuesday at Regions Park in Birmingham with the Tide winning that contest 12-6. With the loss Alabama is 28-14 while the Blazers improved to 26-15. Casey Dunn’s squad is much improved this year and carries an RPI of 33. Alabama entered the game 4th in the nation in RPI. Bama did not help themselves by committing five errors. The Tide is now 60-29 all-time in matchups with the Blazers, including 32-13 in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama
NFL Draft 2025: Alabama Crimson Tide Prospects Primer
As the offseason rolls on, the NFL Draft is quickly sneaking up on us. The first round of the Draft will kick off on Thursday, April 24th (a little over a week from now), and that will dominate the sports news cycle for a couple of weeks.
For Alabama, this will be the first Draft class from a coach not named Saban since 2007, though, admittedly, all of the players going for the NFL this year did play for the legendary head man. In any case, this class will forever be part of Kalen DeBoer’s record at Alabama going forward, and by all accounts, it is still expected to keep the streak of 1st round picks going.
The Tide only had three players declare for the Draft as juniors this year, and only 6 seniors are moving on. It was a young team for the Tide in 2024, so this class reflects that, but the quality of draftees looks to be just as high as usual. Below is a quick primer on each of the Crimson Tide alumni who hope to have their names called next week.
Tyler Booker – Offensive Guard
Projected Round: Mid- to late- first round.
Booker was viewed as the #1 interior offensive lineman in the draft up until a poor showing at the NFL Combine (5.38 forty, 27” vertical, only 21 bench reps) wrecked some of the public opinion on him. Still, he’s going to be the first or second guard off the board. The three most common teams he’s been mocked to are the Seattle Seahawks (#18), Minnesota Vikings (#24), and Houston Texans (#25).
It seems unlikely he’d drop out of the first round, as about 2⁄3 of the NFL actively hate their OL and need to upgrage, and a player with Booker’s pedigree and production will be hard to pass up.
Jihaad Campbell – Linebacker
Projected Round: First round. Fringe top ten.
Campbell was relatively unknown and not talked about until the final month of the 2024 season, and once people started catching on to how impactful he was, his stock skyrocketed. Then he went to the combine and put together an exceptional performance (seriously, he’s ranked as the 41st most athletic linebacker since 1987).
Most view Campbell as the top off-ball linebacker in the draft and one of the top ten players overall… However that gets the caveat that teams just don’t tend to draft off-ball linebackers very high. The Atlanta Falcons at #15 and Tampa Bay Bucs at #19 seem to be the most common mock landing spots, but most pundits will mention that they could see him going earlier if a team is willing to spend on the less premium position for a great player.
Jalen Milroe – Quarterback
Projected Round: Most likely 2nd round. Maybe first round? Maybe 5th?
After being one of the most polarizing players ever among Alabama fans, Milroe continues to be a polarizing NFL prospect. He was often mocked in the first round (and probably top-10 pick) going into 2024, but a lackluster season as far as production and a poor end to the year and bad Senior Bowl performance saw opinions on him plummet.
On the other hand, he ran a 4.40 flat forty yard dash and really impressed in throwing drills during his pro day a few weeks back.
In any case, Alabama fans, for the most part, seem to be more down on Milroe than the NFL community at large. There’s a big contingent mock drafts sending him to the Steelers at #21 overall, and even a few crazy souls that have him at #6 to the Raiders.
There are also plenty of mocks sending him to the 2nd or 3rd round. Some even had him in the 4th or 5th only a month ago, but the groupthink has generally moved him back up into 2nd round over the last few weeks. Ultimately, the NFL is starved for QBs, and he could be the best one. Milroe has, at times, shown he has the ability to do anything an elite NFL QB can, and his rushing ability is something nobody outside of Lamar Jackson can match. It’s just a question of if he can eliminate his spirals of poor play.
CJ Dippre – Tight End
Projected Round: 5-7
Most of the pundits have Dippre solidly in the 6th round, but I’m going out on a limb and predicting he’s the 4th Alabama player off the board, and it could very well be in the 4th or 5th round.
Dippre’s athletic testing was phenomenal at his size, and his combination of blocking, hands, and after the catch ability far outweigh his actual production in Alabama’s low-volume passing offense the last two years. I think a smart NFL team will pounce on him earlier than expected.
James Burnip – Punter
Projected Round: 4-6
Burnip is the top punter in the Draft, and the Aussie’s stratospheric improvement over the last two seasons to go along with this 6’6” height and trebuchet-like legs give him essentially unlimited upside as a punter.
He’s still a punter, though, and round 5 is about as good as you can hope for without being a transcendent talent. He’ll be the first one off the board, and that’s all you can ask.
Malachi Moore – Safety/Nickel
Projected Round: 5-6
As a 5-year starter for Alabama with All-American honors, the low projections for Malachi Moore might seem a bit shocking. Ultimately, Moore lacks the athleticism to be a stand out at the NFL level, and with 5 years of production, he’s viewed as someone that has very little upside to improve from what has already been seen. He’s not big enough to be a true safety, nor fast enough to be a corner.
His versatility and production will get him drafted and likely carve out a nice role as core backup and special teams piece, but that mostly limits him to being a day 3 pick.
Tim Smith – Defensive Tackle
Projected Round: 5-7
Former 5-star recruits at defensive tackle are hard to come by, and that kind of clout pushes Tim Smith up the draft boards a little. His production over multiple years as a starter is underwhelming, but there will be teams that look at him and see a solid DT depth piece. It’s hard enough for NFL teams to find DTs that can be even functional, so someone with Smith’s size, experience, and former high school ranking will be tempting. Round 6 seems to be the most common projection.
Que Robinson – Edge Rusher
Projected Round: 4th – UDFA
There’s a wide range of opinions on Robinson. NFL.com seems rather high on him, as does Pro Football Focus, who put him in the 3rd round. On the other hand, many mocks have him going 6th or even 7th. Personally, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he goes undrafted. The senior had years of no production and didn’t do a whole lot with his 5th year senior season as a part-time starter. He’s long and has decent speed, but is a bit light to play on the line and doesn’t have the skill set to be an off-ball linebacker.
He’s essentially a tweener speed rusher, but lacks dominant tape doing that.
A team may take a flyer on him for the height/speed, but I suspect he’ll drop further than many think.
Robbie Ouzts – Tight End
Projected Round: 7th-UDFA
Ouzts quietly had a nice Combine performance, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some team noticed and is willing to jump to the 6th or 7th round to make sure he makes it to their team. If not, he’ll be one of the top UDFAs.
Ouzts is something of a unique body type (Lance Zierlein said he’s “built like an ironworker with a squat rack in the garage”), and I think he could have been a legitimate NFL fullback about 15-20 years ago. With the NFL starting to swing back to running the ball more, I’ve heard some rumblings that fullbacks might start making something of a comeback, and with that, bowling ball shaped blockers like Ouzts may be able to catch on and carve out a career after being relegated to extinction post-2013.
Freshman left hander Luke Smyers started on the mound for Bama and had a short lived appearance. Lead off man Kevin Hall tried to bunt and popped out to Alabama first baseman Luke Vaughn. That was the only batter retired by Smyers. JP Head followed with a walk and Smyers hit Landon Beaver and Max Price to load the bases. Brady Waugh looped a soft single into short left field to score a run. Andrew Hunt singled up the middle to score another and when Bama centerfielder Bryce Fowler fumbled the ball for an error, another run scored. Wesley Helms singled to chase Smyers in favor of JT Blackwood. Alex DuPay greeted Blackwood with a two run single. Two more runs came in on an error by Bama third baseman Jason Torres on a bunt by Baylor Roberts. By the time the dust settled and the inning ended, the Tide had put themselves in a 7-0 hole.
The Tide went down in order in the bottom half of the first against starter Isaac Warrick. Blackwood allowed two singled to begin the top of the 2nd, but a strikeout and double play held the deficit to seven. Eric Hines was hit by a pitch leading off in the bottom half but a pop out and two strikeouts kept Bama at bay. Blackwood had a perfect third with a ground out, fly out, and pop out. Alabama finally had a scoring opportunity in the in the bottom of the third, but could not capitalize.
Torres led off with a walk but was foreced out at second on a ground ball by Fowler. Justin LeBron shot a single to the right side to move Fowler to third base. LeBron then swiped second base for his 33rd stolen base of the year in 33 chances. Brady Neal walked to load the bases with two outs for Hines. Hines struck out to end the uprising. Blackwood walked Roberts to led off the top of the 4th, followed by a single by Hall. Head singled to right to drive in one run, and when Neal fumbled the ball in right, another run followed. Connor Lehman replaced Blackwood and walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases. A strikeout and a double play prevented further damage, but the score was now 9-0.
In the bottom of the 4th Bama got their second hit of the game with one out when Hall couldn’t find a pop up by Vaughn that fell in for a double. A strikeout and ground out ended the inning. Owen Sarna replaced Lehman and had a quick top of the 5th with a ground out and two strikeouts. Bama went down easily in the bottom half of the fifth. Sarna was back in the 6th and despite a walk and a single kept the Blazers from adding to their lead. Alabama final broke through in the bottom of the frame. Neal led off with a single and was forced out at second on a ground ball hit by Hines, Tide catcher Johnny Lemm crushed a 408 foot home run into the visitors bullpen to cut the lead to 9-2. A strikeout and a long fly out by Will Plattner ended the inning.
Austin Morris replaced Sarna in the top of the seventh. Hunt singled to lead off the inning and a one out double by Dupuy scored Hunt. DuPay reached third when Neal misplayed the ball in right field. Roberts put down a perfect squeeze bunt to score DuPay. Hall struck out to end the inning with the 11-2 score. The Tide went down in order in the bottom of the inning. Joe Chiardo tossed the 8th for Bama and had a perfect inning with a fly out, ground out, and strikeout.
The Tide went down in order in the 8th and Zach Kittrell made his season debut on the mound for Bama in the ninth. Kittrell walked Waugh to lead off the inning. Waugh was cut down trying to steal (in a 11-2 game in the ninth?) by Lemm. The runner was initially called safe but the call was overturned upon review. Kittrell retired the next two on a strikeout and fly ball to left field that Hines made a sliding catch on. Plattner singled with two outs in the 9th for Bama, but a strikeout of Evan Taylor ended the game with the Tide on the short end of the 11-2 score.
Alabama’s offensive woes continued with a 5-32 night at the plate with two walks, one hit batter, one double, one home run, a stolen base, nine strikeouts, and left six on base. The five hits were divided among five players. Smyers fell to o-1 with the loss.
Birmingham hit 11-33 in the game with six walks, two hit batters, one double, one stolen base, nine strikeouts, and left five men on base. Head, Beaver, Hunt, and Dupay all had two hits apiece. Riley Miller was the winning pitcher and is 3-0 on the season. Warrick left the game in the third inning with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.
No sugar coating this one. Just a stinker all the way around. The loss gave the Tide a 2-6 record in their last eight games. There were a couple of bright spots. Lemm hit a much needed home run after struggling the last 8-10 games. Sarna was impressive in his two innings, Chiardo was sharp in his inning, and Kittrell showed some velocity with his 94 mile an hour fastball. LeBron now has a 10 game hitting streak and is still yet to be caught stealing. Bama now has only 20 hits in their last four games with seven runs scored.
Next up is a road trip to Knoxville to take on the struggling Tennessee Volunteers in a Thursday- Saturday series.
Roll Tide
Alabama has become the latest state to enact a comprehensive consumer privacy regime, adding further complexity to an already fragmented U.S. regulatory landscape and raising new compliance imperatives for businesses operating across state lines.
Welcome to BamaCentral’s “Just a Minute,” a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI’s beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.
Watch the above video as BamaCentral baseball beat reporter Theodore Fernandez reflects on the first two months of Alabama baseball’s season and explains why the team has left much to be desired despite success on the field.
At face value, this has been a successful campaign for Alabama baseball. Entering the final four weeks of the regular season, a Crimson Tide team that was projected to finish No. 13 in the SEC is 9-9 in conference play, and just one game out of fourth place. The first sweep of Auburn in more than a decade, the Frisco Classic title, and a road series win over Oklahoma are big-time results that speak to the potential Alabama clearly possesses.
But it continues to appear increasingly likely that this team may not realize that potential.
There are issues up and down the roster. The bulk of the attention has been on Justin Lebron’s struggles. His career-high in errors and underwhelming offensive numbers have led to his draft stock beginning to fall, and it led to him even being experimentally moved out of the two-hole for a game against Arkansas.
Players like Luke Vaughn and Jason Torres have struggled, and there is still a significant amount of regular roster experimentation occurring on a week-to-week basis. Will Plattner, Justin Osterhouse, Chase Kroberger, Andrew Purdy and Peyton Steele are all among the players who have started games over the past two weekends and still appear to have undefined roles.
The biggest question remains the bullpen, as it is nearly impossible to predict what it will provide on any given day. There was a two-weekend stretch where it gave up just five earned runs over 22.1 combined innings against Auburn and Oklahoma, willing Alabama to wins in games where the bats did not show up. Then there have been the lows: implosions against Arkansas and Texas that cast serious doubt on the unit’s ability to show up in big moments.
In all of those areas where the team has struggled, there is hope of a turnaround. There are the bullpen’s aforementioned elite stretches. There are the web-gem plays in short by Lebron, that will leave him with one of the most impressive defensive highlight reels of any player in the nation. There’s Torres responding to a 1-for-12 weekend against the Razorbacks with a two-hit game where he drove in one of Alabama’s two runs to avoid a sweep against Texas last Sunday.
In a sport defined by randomness, where the thinnest of margins can mean the difference between going home in a regional or making a run to Omaha, we simply have no way of knowing where Alabama will land.
Would we really expect it any other way?
That’s baseball.
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