Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from the weekend.
Jon Gruden makes a recruiting pitch for Alabama
Over the bye week, Alabama OC Ryan Grubb and QB coach Nick Sheridan went and spent some time with Jon Gruden, the former NFL head coach, to pick the brain of one of the most respected minds in the sport.
During the visit, Gruden made a recruiting pitch for the Crimson Tide that you can bet the recruiting department is already using.
"When I watch Alabama, I see an offense I want to play in," Gruden said. "If I'm a young player, I want to go play at Alabama."
Nick Saban under fire for misremembering Julian Sayin's time at Alabama
Nick Saban made a quip about Ohio State QB Julian Sayin on College GameDay over the weekend, joking that he was dumb for leaving Sayin on the scout team for a year at Alabama. Sayin spent about a month at Alabama before entering the Transfer Portal and leaving for Ohio State in the aftermath of Saban's retirement.
Sayin did run the scout team for the Crimson Tide during bowl practices, but he was not on campus for a year, and he wouldn't have been eligible to play in the Rose Bowl against Michigan as an early enrollee.
Plenty of scribes took the opportunity to mock Saban for it. The 74-year-old made a mistake that, of course, people ran with to spin ridiculous narratives.
Heather Dinich projects a surprising spot for Alabama in first CFP rankings
Most people assume that Alabama will come in at No. 4 in the inaugural 2025 College Football Playoff rankings that will debut on Tuesday night. Ohio State, Indiana, and Texas A&M, in some order, seem locked into the top three spots.
Or so we thought.
ESPN's Heather Dinich, who is super plugged in with the committee's thinking, believes Alabama will rank No. 3 behind Ohio State and Indiana and ahead of Texas A&M. If you listen closely, you can hear the whining and gnashing of teeth coming from everyone around the country who swears there's an Alabama bias in the committee.
Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. arrested over the weekend
Alabama sophomore safety Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. was arrested over the weekend and booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail on three charges, according to AL.com and confirmed by multiple outlets.
Kirkpatrick has been charged with reckless endangerment, attempting to elude, and speeding. He was released on $1,500 bond on Saturday.
Kirkpatrick's status with the team and the university is not yet known. The university was still gathering facts as of Sunday when the news broke, offering only the following statement:
"We are aware of an incident involving Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. and are working to gather more details at this time."
Auburn fires Hugh Freeze after 10-3 loss to Kentucky
As a bonus: Auburn finally decided to part ways with head coach Hugh Freeze in the midst of a third consecutive disappointing season under the embattled and allegedly reformed coach.
Plenty of Auburn fans panned an article written by Bama Hammer in the preseason about all signs pointing toward yet another rough season on the Plains, with Freeze having buyer's remorse on Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, and Auburn fans having buyer's remorse on Freeze.
We tried to warn you.
Freeze finishes his Auburn tenure at 15-19 following a rock-bottom 10-3 home loss to Kentucky on Saturday night. The Tigers will be on the hook for yet another buyout, and Alabama will face a fifth different head coach in the last six Iron Bowls.