The weekend is almost here. We've still got to get through 12 more of these to get to football season. Luckily, there's plenty of news around Alabama athletics to keep us busy for now.
A big recruiting weekend ahead for Kalen DeBoer, Alabama football
It's another monster weekend of official visits for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football. 11 2026 prospects are scheduled to be in Tuscaloosa over the weekend, headlined by four consensus 5-stars.
Tide commit Jorden Edmonds is one of the headliners of the group. His commitment to Alabama is solid, but he has taken other visits, so this weekend will be big to shore up his verbal. Edmonds is the No. 2 CB in the country for 2026, per On3.
5-star safety Jireh Edwards is a big official visitor in Tuscaloosa this weekend. Prior to his arrival, Alabama picked up a prediction to add the coveted defensive back to their class. Alabama has pushed hard for both him and Jett Washington and seems to be in a good position to land at least one of them.
5-star LB Xavier Griffin will also be in Tuscaloosa. Alabama has been the favorite to land Griffin since he decommitted from USC, but Ohio State has made up a lot of ground. Look for DeBoer and company to push for a commitment from Griffin this weekend and to get him to shut down his recruitment.
The fourth 5-star is TE Kaiden Prothro. Alabama has plenty of ground to make up in his recruitment, but can make a big push this weekend for the talented Georgia product.
Tide commits Jamarion Matthews and Kamhariyan Johnson will take their officials this weekend as well.
Perhaps the most intriguing visitor is QB Matt Ponatoski, who recently picked up an offer from the Crimson Tide and will visit for the first time. Ponatoski has Alabama in his top four. The two-sport star was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio last year in both football and baseball.
Titan Davis has Alabama in his top two
A visitor from last weekend, 4-star DL Titan Davis, has named a final two. It will be Alabama or Michigan for the St. Louis product. Davis was scheduled to take official visits to both Penn State and USC in the coming weeks, but he has cancelled both.
That has to be seen as pretty good news for Alabama that he made the decision to cancel those visits coming out of his official visit to Tuscaloosa last weekend. The Wolverines won't be easy to beat, however. Their recent history of DL development is a big selling point in this recruitment.
A busy week for Ryan Williams
Alabama star WR Ryan Williams had a busy week making headlines. He joined the College GameDay podcast earlier in the week and talked about his training with former Tide Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, a fact that should terrify SEC defensive backs.
The super-talented Williams isn't taking anything for granted this offseason.
Video from an earlier interview with Jon Gruden made the rounds this week, too. Comments that Williams made about Alabama's mentality in revenge games, aka killing an ant with a sledgehammer, were taken completely out of context by the national media. Hard to believe, I know.
Greg Byrne gives Rob Vaughn a contract extension
It was a disappointing end to the Alabama baseball season, with the Crimson Tide getting immediately bounced from the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament by going 0-2. That didn't stop Greg Byrne from handing head baseball coach Rob Vaughn a contract extension, however.
Vaughn led Alabama to a 40-win season for just the second time in 15 years. The postseason failure was obviously disappointing, but it's hard to argue that Vaughn has the program trending in the right direction.
Nate Oats completes Alabama's non-conference schedule
Alabama is still waiting to see who they will play in the Players Era Festival and in the SEC/ACC Challenge, but the non-conference schedule is officially set otherwise for next season.
It'll be another gauntlet for Nate Oats and crew.
Oats completed the schedule with another former assistant. Alabama will play Antoine Pettway and Kennesaw State on December 21st in Huntsville. Pettway was a longtime Tide assistant coach and a former Bama basketball player. He's one of the most beloved players/coaches in Alabama history.
The Huntsville games have been successful for Oats and the program, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed that Pettway won't get to walk back into Coleman Coliseum and get the ovation he deserves.