South Alabama will play Saturday’s IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl in its home state, but the game is also a homecoming for Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor.

The 43-year-old Taylor grew up in the Mobile County community of Mount Vernon, and starred at Citronelle High School. The son of 1970s-era Alabama running back James Taylor, he later enjoyed success with the Crimson Tide as a walk-on wide receiver and special teams ace in the early 2000s, then began his coaching career as a graduate assistant on Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide staff in 2007.

Voisin twins playing together for final time at South Alabama in Salute to Veterans Bowl

“It’s really special for me,” Taylor said of coaching in his home state. “One, a lot of our family and friends don’t get to make it to Kalamazoo, Mich., to watch us play, so for us to be able to come back home and them support and rally around us, the outpouring of love since we got invited and accepted the invitation has just been phenomenal. We’ve got a lot of people coming to represent the Broncos, which is special.”

Taylor’s Broncos are 6-6 in his second season, having improved by two games over a 4-8 record in his 2023 debut. Western Michigan beat archrival Eastern Michigan 26-18 in its final regular-season game to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2021.

When Taylor takes his team onto the field on Saturday night at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, he’ll do so with an old friend and coaching colleague on the other sideline. South Alabama’s Major Applewhite — whose team is also 6-6 this season — was Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2007 when Taylor was hired as a GA.

“I have a lot of respect for what Lance has done up there,” Applewhite said. “I obviously know him all the way back from the days at Alabama. … He’s done a great job, in his first year — last year — and then getting his team bowl-eligible Year 2. And looking at their roster, it’s a lot of juniors and seniors. I know the (running) back is an underclassman, but most everybody that’s a starter is a junior or senior. So it’s a testament to him putting his team together, keeping his team together, and the improvement from Year 1 to Year 2.”

As with many young coaches throughout the college game, it was Saban who helped get the ball rolling on Taylor’s career. He was back in Tuscaloosa rehabbing an injury suffered playing indoor football when Geoff Collins — Alabama’s director of player personnel at the time — told him Saban had an opening for a graduate assistant.

Taylor got the job, thus beginning a nearly two-decade coaching career that has also taken him to Appalachian State (2009), Stanford (2014-16), Notre Dame (2019-21) and Louisville (2022), in addition to stints in the NFL with the New York Jets (2010-12) and Carolina Panthers (2013, 2017-18). He was Louisville’s offensive coordinator when he was hired at Western Michigan, but said he owes it all to Saban taking a chance on him some 17 years ago.

“It was perfect for me,” Taylor said of his time as an Alabama GA. “As a first-time coach, really learning what it takes to be successful. I soaked up every minute of it. I was a young guy, didn’t have a family, didn’t have kids, so every minute I spent at the building, I wanted to because I wanted to be successful as a coach.

“I wanted to know what it took to be great. I also wanted to prove that I could do it. For me at that time, it was the perfect match. It really showed me my calling.”

Applewhite left Alabama to join the staff at Texas (where he had played quarterback from 1998-2001) following the 2007 season, but said he has continued to admire his former colleague from afar. Applewhite returned to Saban’s staff as an analyst in 2019, helping the Crimson Tide to a national championship in 2020 before joining the South Alabama staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the following year.

“(Taylor) carried himself with class, worked hard, was honest — all the great virtues you want,” Applewhite said. “Did what he said he was gonna do, worked hard. Was a good football coach too, knows football, all those things. But just more of personal traits than football traits, was just how he carried himself, just a classy individual who worked hard, was honest. I think those are some of the best things people can say about you.”

Taylor had equally effusive things to say about Applewhite, who took over as South Alabama’s head coach when Kane Wommack left this past January to become Alabama’s defensive coordinator. Taylor and Applewhite worked together only briefly, but that time clearly made an impact on the younger coach.

“One, Major is borderline brilliant, the way he sees the game, play-calling and game-planning,” Taylor said. “And for me, I was transitioning from a player to coaching and it was an amazing first year to learn under him. He was great for me because it wasn’t, ‘hey, I need these things done because you’re the GA.’ He really helped me grow and learn the hows and whys, what it takes to be a really good coach. We’ve kept in touch ever since then. It was amazing just being on the ground, that first year, watching Coach Saban build it from the ground up. And then Major being a huge part of that.

“There’s a lot of what we do in our program now that goes back to those original first days there at Alabama in 2007-08. One, how we’ve modeled the program from watching Coach Saban, but also what we do offensively from being around Major.”

The Salute to Veterans Bowl kicks off at 8 p.m. Saturday, with television coverage on ESPN.

Former Alabama quarterback nd longtime NFL coach Freddie Kitchens was announced as Bill Belichick’s first hire for his new coaching staff during his introductory press conference at North Carolina. Kitchens has spent the last two seasons as the tight ends coach for the Tar Heels.

Kitchens was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Crimson Tide from 1995-1997. He threw for over 4,600 yards and 30 touchdowns. Shortly after his Alabama career, Kitchens began his coaching career.

He has been in the coaching business since 1999 and spent over a decade in the NFL. Kitchens was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2019. He will now work under the six-time Super Bowl winning coach who is making his first foray into the college football world at UNC.

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December 13, 1969: Wilbur Jackson, a running back from Ozark, and Bo Mathews, a back from Huntsville, became the first two black football players to sign with Alabama. Both signed SEC letters of intent. – Bryant Museum

December 13, 1989: Courtney Upshaw was born in Eufala, Ala.

“To me it’s kind of like mouse manure when you’re up to your ears in elephant doo-doo.” – Nick Saban’s reaction to an NCAA rule capping the number of headsets that could be worn on the sidelines

For as long as they can remember, Jaden and Devin Voisin have been not only teammates, but roommates.

That’s soon to change for the twin brothers on the South Alabama football team, which faces Western Michigan in Saturday’s IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery. Jaden — a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference safety — will suit up for the Jaguars for the final time as a sixth-year senior, while Devin — a starting wide receiver — has one year of eligibility remaining thanks to a knee injury that led to a medical redshirt in 2023.

“Not everyone in this world can do that stuff, and I was blessed to do that for all my years here, so it’s awesome,” Jaden said. “… My parents come to every game, have not have to go to different games. We both grew as men and as football players here, and it’s just a blessing to be here.”

The Voisin twins starred in multiple sports at Crestview High School, winning a state championship in basketball and playing for one in football. They signed with South Alabama in the 2019 recruiting class, and were joined their first two years on the team by older brother Keon, who eventually transferred away and finished his career at West Florida.

Both had fits and starts in their early years at South Alabama, including a knee injury in fall camp that cost Jaden the entire 2020 season. But both blossomed during the 2022 season, with Jaden becoming a starter at safety and Devin one of the team’s top receivers.

Devin caught 64 passes for 867 yards and five touchdowns that season, but had his career sidetracked when he tore his ACL in Week 2 the following year. Following a grueling rehab, he has returned this season to catch 31 passes for 365 yards in 12 games.

Because he missed virtually the entire 2023 season, Devin was able to secure a rare seventh season of eligibility. Asked if he’ll spend that final season at South Alabama, Voisin said that’s the most likely outcome.

“We’re still talking about that,” he said, “but that’s the plan right now, to come back here.”

Jaden Voisin also had a breakout season in 2022, when he 79 tackles, five pass breakups and two interceptions in his first year as a starter. He followed that up with 71 tackles, seven PBUs and a team-high four interceptions in 2023, earning first-team All-Sun Belt honors.

After briefly entering the NCAA transfer portal during the offseason, Jaden has been even better in 2024, totaling 74 tackles, five PBUs and five interceptions. His 11 career interceptions are a South Alabama program record, and he’s on a very short list of Jaguars players to twice earn first-team All-Sun Belt recognition.

“It’s all a salute to my teammates, honestly, and my coaches,” Jaden said. “I could have been somewhere else and my career could have been something different. So it’s honestly a blessing that I was here, and I’m just going to say it’s a salute to them, honestly.”

Assuming he returns to South Alabama, Devin Voisin will be leaned on even more as part of an offense that loses four senior receivers — including All-Sun Belt pick Jamaal Pritchett. Quarterback Gio Lopez did announce Wednesday that he’s planning to return in 2025 rather than explore a possible transfer.

But for the first time in six years, the South Alabama program won’t have multiple Voisins on the roster. Jaden is likely to be in an NFL camp somewhere, while Devin will be preparing for his final college season.

There’s one more game to go, however, as the Jaguars (6-6) take on the Broncos (6-6) at 8 p.m. Saturday at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl. The game will air live via ESPN.

“It’s bittersweet, because I know he (Jaden) will have a chance at the next level which is good thing,” Devin said “But it’s just different because I’m losing my roommate. And then, me and Jaden have been together forever, from all the way through elementary (school) to college. We haven’t really been apart, so it’s gonna be new to both of us.

“It’s gonna be cool. I guess I won’t be known as ‘Twin’ anymore. It’s more like, that’s Devin.”