Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from the weekend.
Keelon Russell beats out Austin Mack to start at QB for Alabama
Alabama's QB competition came to its official end on Saturday with the Crimson Tide naming sophomore Keelon Russell the starter. That decision had been telegraphed on Thursday with both Pete Nakos and Chris Low of On3 confidently stating that Russell was in the driver's seat heading into the second scrimmage of fall camp.
QB coach Bryan Ellis described why Russell won the competition the best, stating that "good sh** happens" when the sophomore has the ball in his hands.
With under two weeks to go until the season gets started, Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, and Ellis will have that time to ensure Russell gets the reps he needs to be ready for the first start of his career on September 5th against East Carolina.
NC State transfer WR Noah Rogers returns to practice on Sunday
While it remains to be seen how quickly Noah Rogers can return to game action, the NC State transfer WR was back at practice on Sunday, as seen from photos released by the university. More notable was the fact that Rogers was not wearing a black, non-contact jersey. He was in the normal crimson uniform, signaling that he's a full go.
Rogers suffered a significant injury during the A-Day scrimmage, one that DeBoer noted back then would cost him some time during the regular season. A month ago, DeBoer noted that Rogers was making really good progress, but would still likely miss part of the early season.
If he's practicing two weeks before the season opener, though, he might not miss nearly as much time as was originally thought. They are going to bring him back slowly, however. He'll need to work his way back into game shape after missing significant practice time, but his return to practice is a good sign that he's progressing nicely and is well on his way to making his Crimson Tide debut.
Alabama soccer stays undefeated with a 2-0 win over Nebraska
It's been a terrific start to the season for Wes Hart and Alabama soccer, which stayed undefeated on Sunday with a 2-0 road win over Nebraska.
Ashley Roni scored her first career brace. She put one in the back of the net just two minutes into the match to give the Crimson Tide an early advantage that it wouldn't relinquish. She added her second goal in the 53rd minute to extend the Alabama lead.
Keeper Madi Munguia kept a clean sheet for the first time this season as Alabama moved to 4-0-0. Hart praised his team's toughness and grit in the aftermath of the road victory.
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