Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from Wednesday and Thursday, November 5th and 6th.
Nate Oats closing in on 5-star SG Qayden Samuels
Nate Oats and Alabama basketball are in excellent position to land 5-star SG Qayden Samuels, a District Heights, Maryland native. Earlier on Thursday, 247's Travis Branham placed a prediction for Alabama to beat out Georgetown for Samuels. Others have joined, and now Alabama has a significant lead on the Rivals RPM.
Samuels is the No. 18 overall player in the 2026 class, per the composite rankings. He's an excellent shooter and a bucket-getter from all over the floor. He seems like a perfect fit for Alabama's system.
The early signing period opens on November 12th and runs through November 19th for basketball. This could happen quickly.
4-star TE Mack Sutter shuts down his recruitment
Kalen DeBoer got good news on Thursday, too. 4-star TE Mack Sutter, a Top 100 player in the 2026 class, officially announced his recruitment was shut down.
Sutter committed to Alabama over the summer, but Ohio State, among others, was pushing to try and get him to flip. In the end, Sutter decided to stick with his original commitment and became the latest Crimson Tide commit to make the announcement that their recruitment was over.
Alabama's 2026 class sits at No. 3 in the composite.
Ryan Williams remains "Probable" on Alabama's availability report
Ryan Williams was included on Alabama's initial availability report on Wednesday for this weekend's LSU game. He was listed as "Probable," but that still raised the anxiety level of the Crimson Tide faithful.
The last time Williams was included on the availability report was before the Missouri game. He still played, but he was clearly hobbled and was utilized as a decoy in Columbia.
On Thursday's update, Williams remained "Probable." The star sophomore WR should play, but it remains to be seen how effective he may be.
Kalen DeBoer knows it will take Alabama's best effort to beat LSU
This may not be your typical Alabama vs. LSU matchup, with the Tigers coming in as unranked. But LSU is still one of the most talented teams in the country. The Tigers will come to Tuscaloosa extra motivated to try and get the ship steered back in the right direction.
Alabama needs to be ready for a 60-minute fight. Kalen DeBoer knows that, and he said as such during his radio show on Wednesday night.
"It's going to be a tough test, and we're going to have to bring our best for 4 quarters to win another SEC game," DeBoer said.
Alabama may have to prepare for two LSU QBs
LSU is going to pull out all the stops to try and upset Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. That could include a stunning QB change.
Garrett Nussmeier will start, but LSU interim head coach Frank Wilson mentioned this week that backup Michael Van Buren - a Mississippi State transfer - has seen more snaps than usual in this week's practice.
Van Buren is a dual-threat QB who would give the Crimson Tide's defense a totally different look than Nussmeier.
Wilson's comments could just be gamesmanship, but Van Buren is the type of QB who has given the Tide's defense a lot more trouble than the Nussmeiers of the world.