Only four more weekends without Alabama football.
Here's the news from the weekend you might have missed:
5-star LB Xavier Griffin shuts down his recruitment
In today's recruiting world, where flips are just as prevalent as commitments, it's hard to celebrate a commitment until signing day. Or, at least, until that prospect announces they've shut down their recruitment.
5-star LB Xavier Griffin announced on Friday that he would be shutting down his recruitment. The Gainesville native committed to the Crimson Tide on June 29th and has now announced he is fully locked in with Alabama.
Griffin is a former USC commitment, but reopened his recruitment before the summer and ultimately chose Alabama. Griffin is expected to be a versatile weapon in Kane Wommack's defense, playing inside and outside, much like former Tide star Jihaad Campbell.
Nick Saban speaks on coaching rumors, doesn't shut the door on potential return
Nick Saban hopped on Fox & Friends on Friday and answered questions about the rumors going around about him potentially returning to coaching. While he denied any interest, Saban also didn't completely shut the door on a possible return.
Saban stated that there was no job he knew of right now, that would entice him to pick his headset back up.
His answers aren't going to prevent the rumor mill from continuing to churn. He could have shut the door completely, but he left it ajar enough to start another round of speculation.
Bear Fretwell drops an awesome quote after flipping to Alabama
Alabama needed a tackle in this class to shore up its offensive line group. They found it on Friday with 3-star OT Bear Fretwell flipping his commitment from Georgia Tech to Alabama. Fretwell is an athletic freak, reportedly running a 4.77 40-yard dash at a recent camp. He's raw, but has the size and athletic profile to become an NFL tackle.
After he committed, Fretwell dropped an awesome quote as to why he picked Crimson Tide, showing the Bama discount is alive and well.
"Alabama was not offering me as much rev-share as the other schools. It goes to show you how much love I have for Alabama and how I know they will prepare me for the NFL," Fretwell told BamaOnline's Andrew Bone.
Alabama 5-star target Tank Jones is on commitment watch
The top remaining target on the board for Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama staff is 5-star EDGE Anthony "Tank" Jones, who is down to three schools. Jones will decide between Alabama, Texas A&M, and Oregon. His recruitment has been quiet, but he is reportedly nearing a decision and could announce it soon.
Jones is the final piece of DeBoer's in-state puzzle for 2026. Alabama currently holds commitments from three of the top four players in the state: WR Cederian Morgan, RB Ezavier Crowell, and CB Zyan Gibson. Jones would give the Tide a clean sweep of the top four.
Jalen Milroe is shining in Seahawks camp
Former Alabama QB Jalen Milroe looks to be further along than the Seahawks expected. The third-round pick has made waves in Training Camp for Seattle, making play after play and making his case for early playing time.
The expectation has always been that the Seahawks would have a "Milroe package" to take advantage of his athletic ability, but he would be a year or two away from seriously challenging for the starting QB job.
The Seahawks invested a lot of money in Sam Darnold to start, but his leash may be shorter than many expected with Milroe's emergence in camp.
JD Davison signs a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets
JD Davison wasn't out of work for long.
Just a couple of days after being waived by the Boston Celtics, the organization he spent the first three years of his professional career with, Davison has signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets.
Davison was probably hoping to find a standard NBA contract and avoid more time in the G-League, but that evidently didn't materialize. Instead, he'll reunite with Ime Udoka in Houston, who was the head coach of the Celtics when Davison was drafted in 2022.
Davison was last season's G-League MVP and will hope to continue to buld off that performance to crack his way into an NBA rotation.