Alabama
What to know about Vanderbilt before Alabama football’s 1st SEC road game of 2024
Alabama football is set to make its first SEC road trip of the Kalen DeBoer era on Saturday, when it faces Vanderbilt in Nashville. The Commodores enter the game 2-2, while Alabama is coming off a thrilling win over Georgia at 4-0, and is the newly crowned No. 1 team on the AP media poll.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 3:15 p.m. CT Saturday in Nashville. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.
Before that, here’s what to know about Vanderbilt.
The coach
Weirdly enough, Clark Lea and Kalen DeBoer go all the way back to South Dakota. While DeBoer was running the show at Sioux Falls in the NAIA, Lea took his first full-time coaching job at South Dakota State, as linebackers coach in 2007.
“I think we’re both still pretty young, if I can say that, but we were certainly young then” Lea said Tuesday. “Kalen had already built a great reputation as a head coach and I used to see him at clinics. It’s been a lot of fun to follow his career, because I admire the way that he worked his way up through the ranks.”
Lea returned to Nashville to coach at his alma mater in 2021. The Commodores have continued to struggle throughout his tenure, largely due to the innate disadvantages Vanderbilt faces in the SEC.
His best season at VU came in 2022, when the Commodores went 5-7 overall, winning two SEC games.
Prior to joining Vanderbilt, where he played football from 2002-04, he worked as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly, a role he was promoted to after Mike Elko left for Texas A&M. Lea’s career also includes stops at Wake Forest, Syracuse, Bowling Green and UCLA.
The quarterback
After struggling to a 2-10 record in 2023, Lea and company went looking in the transfer portal. VU found quarterback Diego Pavia.
Pavia joined the Commodores after spending the past two years of his career at New Mexico State, having started at New Mexico Military Institute. He won Conference USA’s player of the year award last season with the Aggies, helping them knock off Auburn in the process.
He’s been a bolt of lighting for the Commodores this season. Pavia, listed at a dubious 6-feet tall, 207 pounds, has thrown for 721 yards and six touchdowns so far, and has rushed for another 279 yards and two scores.
The Commodores scored a unique challenge for opponents in Pavia, who they often use in the option game. He’s the key to Vanderbilt’s offense this season, and a change of pace from anything Alabama has seen so far.
The season
Vanderbilt, as is customary, wasn’t expected to do much this season. The Commodores exceeded those expectations in their first game, beating Virginia Tech 34-27 in Nashville.
The next week, VU took down Alcorn State 55-0. After that, things took a turn.
The Commodores lost to the Sun Belt’s Georgia State on the road in Week 3. Then it took traveled to Columbia, Mo., where Missouri was expected to crush Lea’s group.
That didn’t happen. Vanderbilt led much of the way, before the Tigers pulled off the win in double overtime due to a missed VU field goal.
Vanderbilt enters Saturday’s game off a bye week.
Alabama
Alabama NAACP Releases 2026 Selma Jubilee Weekend Schedule
The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP has announced its official schedule for the 2026 NAACP-sponsored Selma Jubilee Bridge Crossing Weekend, set for March 6–8 in Montgomery and Selma.
Held under the theme “A Time for Standing,” the annual commemoration honors the Foot Soldiers of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches and recognizes the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and Rev. Jesse Jackson for their roles in advancing civil rights and voting access.
The three-day event will bring together national, state and local leaders, along with youth and college chapters, faith partners and community members for activities focused on reflection, education and civic engagement.
Scheduled events include a civic discussion titled “The New Civic Path” on March 6 at the Montgomery Interpretive Center at Alabama State University, followed by a Jubilee Gala that evening at Embassy Suites in Montgomery. On March 7, the Birmingham Metro Branch will host a bus trip to Selma, while a statewide civic engagement training will take place in Montgomery.
SEE ALSO: Bridge Crossing Jubilee to honor Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy in Selma
SEE ALSO: 16th Street Baptist Church: Keeping a Legacy Alive 63 Years Later
On March 8, participants will take part in the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Parade, voter activation efforts, worship services at Brown Chapel AME Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church, and the traditional bridge crossing at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Organizers say the weekend will emphasize continued civic participation and community engagement across Alabama.
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March 6 — Alabama NAACP Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Gala 5:30PM Embassy Suites by Hilton, 300 Tallapoosa St, Montgomery, AL 36104
March 7 — NAACP Birmingham Metro Branch Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Bus Trip 8AM–5PM Broad Street and Water Avenue in Selma Alabama
March 7 — Alabama State NAACP Statewide Civic Engagement Training 8–4:15PM Homewood Suites, 7800 EastChase Pkwy, Montgomery, AL 36117
March 8 — Alabama State NAACP in the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Parade 8AM–10AM Begins at 1722 Broad St and concludes at the National Voting Rights Museum
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Statewide Bridge Crossing Jubilee Bus Trip 8AM–5PM Alabama State University, Untenese and Mobile Branch and University of Alabama, Oakwood University, Broad Street and Water Avenue, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Participation in Worship Services 10AM–2PM Brown Chapel AME Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Youth and College Civic Engagement Voter Activation 8AM–2PM Broad Street and Water Ave, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Statewide Bridge Crossing 11:15PM – Line up Alabama NAACP Tent on Waters Ave or at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma
Alabama
3 Alabama players who helped their draft stock at 2026 NFL combine
Each player had a pivotal role on the Crimson Tide in 2025.
Alabama had a multitude of former players who performed at an elite level at the NFL combine this past weekend.
Former Alabama star quarterback Ty Simpson was among those who put his talents on full display in Indianapolis, as Simpson continues to emerge as a top quarterback prospect available in April’s draft.
Numerous Crimson Tide stars on both sides of the football were able to have an excellent showing at the combine as well, with each playmaker a vital component to the Tide’s success in 2025.
Here are three Alabama players who helped their draft stock rise at the NFL combine.
Ty Simpson, Quarterback
Simpson is widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect available outside of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. The talented redshirt junior put on an absolute show at the NFL combine, as Simpson delivered multiple perfect throws and put his talents on full display throughout Saturday’s events.
The former Alabama star is a candidate to potentially shine day one in his campaign in the NFL, as Simpson’s draft stock continues to rise prior to April.
Jam Miller, Running Back
Miller is an extremely fast and athletic running back, despite struggling in the Tide’s backfield last season. The star running back recorded an impressive 4.43u 40-yard dash time, as Miller could very easily shine in the NFL next season with consistent playing time.
Miller was nothing short of elite throughout his entire performance at the combine in Indianapolis, as the former Tide running back continues to rise in a multitude of draft rankings around the football world.
Kadyn Proctor, Offensive Tackle
Proctor played a crucial role on Alabama’s offensive line last season. The star lineman reportedly slimmed down prior to the NFL combine, as Proctor displayed elite speed and athleticism throughout Sunday’s combine in Indianapolis.
Proctor is widely expected to be a mid-to-late first round selection in April, as the talented lineman’s efforts during the combine could quickly begin to work in Proctor’s favor during next month’s draft.
The 2026 NFL draft will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania starting on April 23, as each Crimson Tide star will look to shine throughout their rookie campaign in the NFL.
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Alabama
Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child
A husband fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself at an Alabama hospital just moments after they welcomed their first child on Sunday.
Kynath Terry Jr., 19, gunned down 24-year-old Precious Johnson before fatally shooting himself inside the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night, WTVM 13 reported.
Johnson delivered a healthy baby just before she was murdered. It’s not immediately clear if the baby was present during the shooting, but police said that Terry and Johnson were the only ones injured.
Terry’s mother told the outlet that the couple were having some marital issues leading up to Johnson’s due date, but nothing that made her fear her son would become violent.
She told the outlet that Terry completed Army National Guard training before tying the knot with Johnson.
She noted that Johnson didn’t want Terry’s side of the family at the hospital for her child’s birth, but it’s unclear if anyone from the mother-to-be’s own family was there.
The hospital was plunged into a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” while police investigated reports of a shooting. It wasn’t lifted until hours later when they determined there was “no active threat to patients, team members or the public,” the outlet reported.
The Homewood Police Department described the tragedy as “an apparent murder-suicide and is domestic in nature.”
Danne Howard, the president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told the outlet that the chilling attack “was an isolated incident” unlike anything she’d encountered during her three decades working in the state.
Howard said, in the wake of the tragedy, the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital would undergo a security overhaul implementing “lessons learned” from a mandated after-action report.
Just three months ago, in a town six miles outside of Homewood, a beloved sports reporter was fatally shot by her husband before taking his own life. Their 3-year-old son, who was unharmed, led his grandfather to his parents’ bodies.
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