Nick Saban isn’t going to forget his time as Alabama football coach anytime soon. Especially the experience he had over a short period of time on Jan. 8, 2018.

Saban was speaking at the University of Alabama Board of Trustees meeting Thursday when he brought up the national championship against Georgia from the 2017 season.

“I also had, in the game, the greatest moment of horrific ‘this could never happen’ to ‘greatest feeling of success’ when Tua (Tagovailoa) gets sacked in overtime in 2017,” Saban said. “I break the headset. I’m screaming at him. Before I could get done yelling at him for that play, we won the game.”

Tagovailoa hit DeVonta Smith for the game-winning score in overtime to give Saban his fifth national championship at Alabama.

The Crimson Tide will officially dedicate the field to Saban, who retired in January, on Saturday when No. 4 Alabama faces South Florida. Before the weekend, the board of trustees officially approved the resolution to name the playing surface at Bryant-Denny Stadium “Saban Field.”

After it was approved and the trustees took a photo with the Sabans, the retired Alabama coach spoke.

“I have some of the greatest memories of my lifetime, the 17 years being the coach at Alabama,” Saban said. “Maybe the best opportunity that anybody could ever have.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

On Thursday, Governor Ivey formally requested the resignation of Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis and removed John Kilpatrick from the Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs, effective immediately.

In a letter addressed to Davis, Ivey cited mishandling of a federal grant program as a driving factor for the change in leadership. The governor pointed to delays and ineligible proposals for the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which she said jeopardized Alabama’s ability to meet federal requirements and serve its veterans effectively.

Ivey told Davis he has until 5:00 p.m. today to notify her if he intends to resign. If he does so, he can make his resignation effective on September 30, 2024.

“Ample cause exists for your removal as Commissioner,” Ivey wrote in her letter to Davis.

“For example, your agency mishandled an ARPA grant program by, among other things, proposing—on a substantially delayed basis—uses of grant funds that would be ineligible under U.S. Treasury rules and regulations and/or state law or policy. This jeopardized the State of Alabama’s ability to fulfill its obligations under ARPA and your agency’s ability to most effectively serve veterans. It thus seriously calls into question your ability to secure ‘additional services’ for Alabama veterans and to ‘cooperate with all other heads of the state departments’ as is required by your duties under state law.”

Ivey said she reserves the right to argue that Davis failed to consult with her office as required by Executive Order No. 726. The governor did not announce any immediate replacements for Davis or Kilpatrick.

The governor’s request for Davis’ resignation comes just after the Alabama Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint Davis filed against Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Kim Boswell, as chronicled by Alabama Daily News. 

Davis alleged that Boswell “colluded” with others to improperly block the department from receiving about $7 million in ARPA funds and working to “kill” legislation to create a state-run system of mental health care for veterans, according to ADN. 

A review by the commission found the complaint to be categorically unfounded. Governor Ivey called the complaint “entirely frivolous” after their ruling. Davis used numerous ethics complaints seemingly as a canvas to impugn the integrity of colleagues and other respected professionals involved in the legislative process.

John Kilpatrick, who was central to one of the ethics complaints made by Davis, was removed from the veterans board by Ivey on Thursday. Kilpatrick’s nonprofit, Vets Recover, sought a portion of the disputed ARPA funds.

At time of publication, Davis has yet to inform the Governor’s office of his resignation.

Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270

In 2023, Alabama football had the heaviest offensive line, based on average weight of starters, in the SEC. It wasn’t even close, the Crimson Tide weighed in at 339.4 pounds, with Vanderbilt in second place at 325.

Fast forward to 2024 and the Crimson Tide dropped to 13th, according to Beef Index data, released Thursday by AL.com. So what happened?

First of all, the Beef Index numbers take into account only Week 1 starters. For Alabama, that means losing the heaviest member of its offensive line unit, Kadyn Proctor, who was hurt in pregame warmups before the Tide faced Western Kentucky.

Had the 369-pound Proctor taken the field, Alabama’s average would have climbed to 323.6 pounds. That wouldn’t have placed the Tide back to the top of the list, but would have put it up to seventh.

Second, the unit simply slimmed down. Under new head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, Alabama prioritized movement, bringing in transfer center Parker Brailsford, who weighs 290 pounds and having other players, like Tyler Booker, lose weight.

Alabama moved significantly year-over-year in another metric as well. The Tide climbed from 12th in the SEC in offensive line total weight to first, counting every player on the online roster.

There’s an extremely simple reason for that. Alabama went from carrying 18 to 23 offensive linemen, and thus jumped from 5,534 pounds to 7,025.

When averaging out the weights of every offensive linemen on the roster, Alabama slipped several spots from 2023. The Crimson Tide weighed in at 307.4 pounds via that metric last season, 12th in the 14-team conference, but dropped to 305.43 pounds in 2024, last in the 12-team league.

Auburn

The Tigers took a huge drop down the standings in terms of starter average weight. While AU checked in third, at 321.4 pounds last season, the 2024 first five weighed an average of 311.8 pounds, dead last in the league.

The big loss there was Kam Stutts, whose 343 pounds topped out the group by a large margin. This year, Jeremiah Wright is the heaviest starter, at 333 pounds, with other weight drops around him.

Auburn sits 13th in total weight. Again, that’s the easiest metric to manipulate, simply by carrying more linemen.

The Tigers have 19 offensive linemen listed, and sit third among the four teams carrying that number. Last season, Auburn carried 18, sitting 13th among the 16 teams now in the SEC.

AU lost several places on the final metric, which averages the weights of all rostered offensive linemen. The Tigers checked in 13th for 2024, at 309.79 pounds, one of just four teams to come in below 310.

Last season, the Tigers sat 10th of the 16 current SEC teams, at 311.22 pounds.