Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from Monday and Tuesday, August 25th and 26th.
Kalen DeBoer updates injuries ahead of Alabama vs. Florida State
Kalen DeBoer spoke to the media on Monday and provided updates on some injuries for Alabama.
As expected, Jam Miller will miss the game against Florida State and likely more. The current expectation is that the senior RB will be back in time for Alabama's road trip to Georgia on September 27th.
DT James Smith has returned to full participation at practice and should play on Saturday without restrictions.
The news wasn't as good on fifth-year senior offensive guard Jaeden Roberts, who has been in concussion protocol for a couple of weeks. Roberts has not yet returned to practice, and his status is very much in doubt for this weekend.
Even if Roberts is able to play, it's unlikely he'll start. Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry should slot in at LG with rotational swingman Geno VanDeMark taking over at RG for Roberts.
Florida State fans crash out over team's depth chart
If you're an Alabama fan who is nervous about this game, take a look at the reactions underneath the Twitter post by Florida State when they released their depth chart. It's full-blown, cactus-swinging panic in Tallahassee over the depth at pretty much every position.
Several years worth of recruiting misses by Mike Norvell has led the Seminoles to rely almost entirely on the Transfer Portal once again instead of homegrown talent. That makes them a great unknown heading into the season. They could be in for another disastrous season like last year, or they could be one of the most improved teams in the country.
Chances are, they slot in somewhere in the middle.
Amari Cooper signs with the Las Vegas Raiders
Legendary former Alabama WR Amari Cooper's career has now come full circle. After a lengthy free-agent process, Cooper agreed to a one-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, the same team that drafted him out of Alabama in 2015.
Of course, they were the Oakland Raiders then, but Cooper spent the first three-and-a-half years of his career with the Raiders, producing two Pro Bowl seasons before getting traded to the Dallas Cowboys. Cooper played for them, the Browns, and the Bills before finding his way back to the Raiders.
Dijon Lee might be a day one starter for Alabama
Alabama freshman CB Dijon Lee is pushing for a starting role in Alabama's secondary. Kane Wommack and Kalen DeBoer have both already said they look at him like a starter, but he might actually be one.
In recent practices, sophomore Zabien Brown has been repping more and more at Husky, opening up the possibility that he makes the move there so that Lee can play corner alongside Domani Jackson. That would put Alabama's top three cover corners on the field at the same time.
They may lean toward more sure tackling with DaShawn Jones or Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. for the game on Saturday with Florida State's run threat, but it's only a matter of time for Lee. His emergence will allow the Crimson Tide to be really versatile on the back end.
Alabama cancels home-and-home series with West Virginia
In a move that surprises absolutely no one, Alabama announced the cancellation of a future series with West Virginia, scheduled for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. This move was expected following the SEC's move to a nine-game league schedule beginning next season.
Alabama will be required, like the rest of the SEC, to play one P4 non-conference game per season, but they were never going to play two. At least, not until they get a better indication of how much of a factor strength of schedule will be going forward for the College Football Playoff committee.
Alabama will replace West Virginia in 2026 with a home game against East Carolina. For 2027, the only non-conference game currently on the docket is a road trip to Ohio State, offering plenty of flexibility for Greg Byrne.
Jaylen Mbakwe is running scout-team QB for Alabama
Some might look at Tuesday's news of Jaylen Mbakwe playing scout-team QB in practice to simulate what Alabama may see against the super-athletic Tommy Castellanos on Saturday afternoon as a negative for Mbakwe. The former 5-star recruit is entering his second season and is unlikely to find many non-garbage time snaps at WR this season after making a position change from CB.
I'm not one of those people.
I think Mbakwe being willing to do this shows an unselfishness from him, which speaks further to what really feels like an unselfish Alabama team overall. Time will tell whether or not this is a championship team, but it certainly has a championship mentality.