Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from Monday and Tuesday, October 13th and 14th.
CFB analyst compares Ty Simpson to Andrew Luck
Ty Simpson has gotten off to quite an impressive start to his career as the Alabama starter. After just six games, he has himself firmly in the Heisman Trophy and first-round NFL Draft conversation.
College football analyst Tom Luginbill is ready to take it a step forward. In an appearance on the Next Round this week, Luginbill compared Simpson to former Stanford QB, Heisman runner-up, and No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck.
"He reminds me of Andrew Luck at Stanford," Luginbill said. "Where the ball handling, the footwork, the deceptive athleticism, the accuracy. We talk about anticipation and timing and being decisive, one of the reasons it's so difficult to rush him. That's who he looks like. That's who he reminds me of. That's why he's going to grow and become more and more attractive if he keeps playing at this level, because if he does, look out. I just think he's an absolute difference maker.
Ryan Grubb talks up freshman RT Michael Carroll
Alabama fans have been waiting for weeks now for Kalen DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb to make the decision to replace starting RT Wilkin Formby with freshman Michael Carroll full-time. The 5-star freshman has been getting quite a few snaps, but Formby has started every game and still played the majority.
That could change soon, according to Grubb.
"He's very close to being an every-down guy," Grubb said about Carroll.
Domani Jackson is looking over his shoulder at freshman Dijon Lee
Another freshman could be ready to take over a starting role. After a rough start to the game against Missouri for senior CB Domani Jackson, freshman Dijon Lee ultimately played more snaps throughout the game. That could continue to be the case moving forward.
Jackson has put some things on film that are unkind to him, and things that opposing offense are exploiting. The freshman Lee has made major strides halfway through the regular season and is demanding more playing time.
"You have to answer for the things that we put on tape," Wommack said. "We just felt like what Dijon was doing in the game, and as the game went on, he was operating at a very efficient level... What you do in practice and what you do in games ultimately determines the amount of playing time moving forward."
Kalen DeBoer's new mentality has Alabama fans fired up
The switch flipped for Kalen DeBoer in the aftermath of Alabama's season-opening loss to Florida State. Since then, he's sounded like a completely different head coach. It's not a coincidence that Alabama has played like a completely different team, either.
He delivered a quote on Monday when talking to the media that has all Alabama fans still buzzing.
"We prefer to just shut up, show up and do the work," DeBoer said.
Ty Simpson rips into Alabama's offense during a team meeting
Ty Simpson doesn't take his responsibility as a leader for Alabama lightly. When he thinks the team needs a kick in the pants, he's happy to deliver it to them. Because he knows that Alabama used up a lot of its margin for error in Tallahassee already, and every game from then on had to be a playoff game.
Simpson knows that the Alabama offense from the last two weeks - albeit good enough to win games against Vanderbilt and Missouri - won't be good enough to beat Tennessee on Saturday. According to Kadyn Proctor, he let the offense know it in a team meeting on Monday.
"He's just a great leader, speaks all the time," Proctor said. "Ripped our ass when we were in the team meeting yesterday. He knows how to get us riled up."
Alabama basketball picked 4th in preseason SEC media poll
The SEC released the media predictions for the 2025-26 basketball season, and Alabama is, as usual, considered a contender for the league title. The media picked Alabama to finish 4th, behind Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Labaron Philon was picked to be 1st team All-SEC. Aden Holloway was picked on the 3rd team.
The preseason AP Poll was also released, and Alabama was ranked 15th.
Nate Oats compares an Alabama freshman to Herb Jones
There's no higher compliment Nate Oats can pay a player than mentioning them in the same breath as Alabama legend Herb Jones. The 2021 SEC Player of the Year is on the shortlist of the greatest players in program history, and he was the leader of Oats' first great Tide team.
Oats had high praise for Alabama freshman Davion Hannah, mentioning he might be the best perimeter defender for Tide basketball since Jones.
"I think Davion Hannah is maybe as good as a perimeter defender this program has seen since maybe Herb Jones," Oats said.