Alabama
NFL playoffs: Alabama still No. 1 in postseason players
After having the most players on the active rosters of the playoff teams for the Wild-Card Weekend of any college program, Alabama will have the most representation in the Divisional Weekend, too.
With 31 former players on the original 14 postseason teams, Alabama now has 19 on the active rosters of the NFL playoffs’ remaining eight teams – and that doesn’t include Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, but only those players who went directly from the Crimson Tide to the NFL. Hurts played a season at Oklahoma between his three at Alabama and his second-round selection by Philadelphia.
But it’s still possible for Super Bowl LIX to go off without an Alabama alumnus because neither the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC nor the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC have a former Crimson Tide player on their roster.
The playoffs started with Florida and Michigan as the college programs guaranteed to have a representative at this season’s NFL championship game. The results of the Wild-Card Weekend assured six other college programs of having an alumnus in Super Bowl LIX – Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State, Washington and Wisconsin.
But no college program is guaranteed of having an alumnus on the winning team yet.
In addition to Alabama, colleges with at least 10 alumni remaining on the playoff teams’ active rosters are Georgia with 15, Oklahoma with 12, Florida, Ohio State and Penn State with 11 apiece and Notre Dame with 10.
The Wild-Card Weekend results were hard on other colleges’ representation. For example, former Hewitt-Trussville standout and Washington Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene is the only Auburn alumnus still playing. Five of the six teams that lost on Wild-Card Weekend had Auburn alumni on their active rosters, and former Tigers offensive tackle Jack Driscoll was placed on injured reserve by the Philadelphia Eagles.
The playoffs began with 65 players from Alabama high schools and colleges on the active rosters. Now there are 34. Here are the players with Alabama football roots on the remaining postseason teams:
Baltimore Ravens
- Reserve/injured: Jalyn Armour-Davis, cornerback, St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama
- Practice squad: Malik Cunningham, wide receiver, Park Crossing
- Practice squad: Darrian Dalcourt, guard, Alabama
- Derrick Henry, running back, Alabama
- Marlon Humphrey, cornerback, Hoover, Alabama
- Michael Pierce, defensive tackle, Daphne, Samford
Buffalo Bills
- Amari Cooper, wide receiver, Alabama
- Tylan Grable, offensive tackle, Jacksonville State
- Practice squad: Kareem Jackson, safety, Alabama
- Practice squad: Tyrell Shavers, wide receiver, Alabama
- Javon Solomon, edge, Troy
Detroit Lions
- Terrion Arnold, cornerback, Alabama
- Brian Branch, defensive back, Alabama
- Reserve/injured: Carlton Davis, cornerback, Auburn
- Jahmyr Gibbs, running back, Alabama
- Brodric Martin, defensive lineman, Northridge, North Alabama
- Za’Darius Smith, defensive end, Greenville
- Jameson Williams, wide receiver, Alabama
Houston Texans
- Will Anderson Jr., defensive end, Alabama
- Practice squad: Anthony Averett, cornerback, Alabama
- Nico Collins, wide receiver, Clay-Chalkville
- Reserve/injured: Tank Dell, wide receiver, Alabama A&M
- Christian Harris, linebacker, Alabama
- Tytus Howard, offensive lineman, Monroe County, Alabama State
- Kamari Lassiter, cornerback, American Christian
- John Metchie III, wide receiver, Alabama
- Irv Smith Jr., tight end, Alabama
- Henry To’oTo’o, linebacker, Alabama
- Reserve/injured: Jimmie Ward, safety, Davidson
- Practice squad: Kilian Zierer, offensive tackle, Auburn
Kansas City Chiefs
- Practice squad: Chris Oladokun, quarterback, Samford
- Practice squad: Justyn Ross, wide receiver, Central-Phenix City
- Practice squad: Montrell Washington, wide receiver, Samford
Los Angeles Rams
- Darious Williams, cornerback, UAB
Philadelphia Eagles
- Reed Blankenship, safety, West Limestone
- Practice squad: Khari Blasingame, fullback, Buckhorn
- Reserve/injured: James Bradberry, cornerback, Pleasant Grove, Samford
- Landon Dickerson, guard, Alabama
- Reserve/injured: Jack Driscoll, offensive lineman, Auburn
- Bryce Huff, defensive end, St. Paul’s Episcopal
- Jalen Hurts, quarterback, Alabama
- Eli Ricks, cornerback, Alabama
- DeVonta Smith, wide receiver, Alabama
- Tyler Steen, offensive lineman, Alabama
- Reserve/injured: C.J. Uzomah, tight end, Auburn
- Reserve/injured: Byron Young, defensive tackle, Alabama
Washington Commanders
- Jonathan Allen, defensive tackle, Alabama
- Noah Igbinoghene, cornerback, Hewitt-Trussville, Auburn
- Daron Payne, defensive tackle, Shades Valley, Alabama
- Jeremy Reaves, defensive back, South Alabama
- Brian Robinson Jr., running back, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Trent Scott, offensive lineman, Lee-Huntsville
The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs take the field for the postseason this weekend. The No. 1 seeds on each side of the Super Bowl LIX bracket, they received a first-round bye through the Wild-Card Weekend.
The results and schedule for the NFL postseason include (with all times CST):
WILD-CARD WEEKEND
Saturday, Jan. 11
- AFC: No. 4 Houston Texans 32, No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers 12
- AFC: No. 3 Baltimore Ravens 28, No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers 12
Sunday, Jan. 12
Monday, Jan. 13
- NFC: No. 4 Los Angeles Rams 27, No. 5 Minnesota Vikings 9
DIVISIONAL WEEKEND
Saturday, Jan. 18
- AFC: No. 4 Houston Texans (11-7) at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (15-2), 3:30 p.m. (ABC, ESPN)
- NFC: No. 6 Washington Commanders (13-5) at No. 1 Detroit Lions (15-2), 7 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Jan. 19
- NFC: No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (11-7) at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (15-3), 2 p.m. (NBC)
- AFC: No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (13-5) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (14-4), 5:30 p.m. (CBS)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday, Jan. 26
- NFC, 2 p.m. (FOX)
- AFC, 5:30 p.m. (CBS)
SUPER BOWL LIX
Sunday, Feb. 9
- AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 5:30 p.m. at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans (FOX)
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
Alabama
Alabama House race in Jacksonville area draws a crowded field
Alabama
Kevin Turner Prattville YMCA Golf Tournament welcomes Auburn, Alabama players as guest hosts
PRATTVILLE, Ala. (WSFA) – One of the most anticipated golf tournaments of the year happens Monday — the 29th annual Kevin Turner Prattville YMCA Golf Tournament.
This year’s guest hosts are both placekickers — former Alabama kicker Michael Proctor and current Auburn kicker Alex McPherson.
Proctor, a Pelham High graduate, came to the Crimson Tide in 1992, a year after Turner was drafted by the Patriots. But he still remembers the Prattville native’s infectious personality that resonated with teammates. “I had heard about the tournament through the years,” Proctor said. “It’s a big deal. Kevin is a big deal. When he was playing here, and even after his unfortunate passing, he’s well remembered and respected. Anything I can do to help anything in his name, I would be willing to do. I met him when I was there. He came back, obviously knowing people on the team that he had played with. Anything I can do for his name … I’m sure anybody at Alabama or anybody that knew him would be willing to do anything for him because he would do the same for you.”
McPherson, a Fort Payne High graduate, came to Auburn in 2022, weathered an inflammatory bowel disease that sidelined him in 2024, and is now preparing for his fifth year as the Tigers’ kicker. And even though he never knew Turner personally, he’s looking forward to the tournament.
“I’m honored,” McPherson said. “I heard what the tournament was about, Kevin and his story. I heard that one of the former Alabama kickers was going to be in the tournament and that they would love to have a kicker from Auburn. They thought that I would be a great fit.”
Proctor was recruited as one of the nation’s top prep kickers and went through a high school and collegiate career where he made 184 of 185 extra points. He kicked a then-record 60-yard field goal at Pelham and nine of his 26 field goals were longer than 50 yards. He finished a four-year career as the Crimson Tide’s second leading scorer with 326 points, earning All-American honors in 1993 and 1994 after winning a national championship in 1992 and returning as the Southeastern Conference’s top kicker a year later.
McPherson was recruited as one of the nation’s top kickers and kicked a record 61-yard field goal in high school before joining the Tigers. Like Proctor, his breakout year came as a sophomore (in 2023) where he made 13 of 13 field goal attempts and 40 of 40 extra point attempts in becoming a Lou Groza Award semifinalist.
Turner went through a five-year battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which was triggered by CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a disease that hits home with many collegiate players from that era who witnessed it first with Turner and more recently with former Tide running back Kerry Goode.
The tournament helps fund the “Coach A Child Scholarship Fund Campaign” which provides financial aid to make YMCA services available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
The Prattville YMCA has provided financial aid to more than 3,300 people, many of them children, at a cost of more than $400,000. This year, the goal is to raise $285,000 for the Coach A Child Fund Campaign.
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Copyright 2026 WSFA. All rights reserved.
Alabama
Alabama softball No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament: Who does Tide play?
Alabama softball is the cream of the crop heading into the 2026 NCAA softball tournament, cemented as the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in 16 years.
The Crimson Tide’s ranking means it will host a regional and, if it advances, a super regional. The regional field will consist of USC Upstate (36-21), Belmont (40-11) and SE Louisiana (46-14).
The Tuscaloosa Regional is double-elimination. Action will run through May 15-17 on SEC Network.
It marks the 27th straight NCAA Tournament appearance for Alabama and the 21st-straight season it is hosting a regional at Rhoads Stadium, not including the canceled 2020 season. The Crimson Tide has advanced to the Women’s College World Series 15 times and is looking to do so for the first time in two years.
Alabama has one national championship, which came in 2012.
Alabama is coming off a championship game loss in the SEC Tournament. Seven unanswered runs led to a 7-1 fall to Texas, securing the Longhorns their first SEC Softball Tournament title during their second year in the conference on Saturday, May 9.
Friday, May 15
- Game 1: Alabama vs. USC Upstate, noon CT
- Game 2: Belmont vs. SE Louisiana, 2:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 16
- Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, TBD
- Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, TBD
- Game 5: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser, TBD
Sunday, May 17
- Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, TBD
- Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary), TBD
Amelia Hurley covers high school and college sports for The Tuscaloosa News and USA TODAY Network. You can find her on X at ameliahurley_ or reach her at ahurley@usatodayco.com.
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