Alabama football defensive starter makes decision on whether to return in 2025

Another starter on Alabama’s defense is returning for 2025.

Another member of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s defensive back group will return for the 2025 football season.

In a move that had been widely expected, sophomore safety Keon Sabb took to social media Tuesday to confirm that he would play for Alabama in 2025. Sabb, who transferred from Michigan after the 2023 season, played in the Crimson Tide’s first seven games last season and suffered a season-ending lower body injury in the loss at Tennessee on Oct. 19.

Sabb had four pass breakups and two interceptions to go with 39 tackles in seven games. His two interceptions both came against TJ Finley in the first quarter of Alabama’s season-opening 63-0 win over Western Kentucky on Aug. 31 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

With Michigan in 2023, Sabb saw action in 13 of the Wolverines’ 15 games in their march to the national championship. Against Washington in the College Football Playoff Championship Game, he made six tackles and broke up two passes.

Sabb is the second defensive back within the past week to announce his return to Alabama in 2025. On Sunday, junior cornerback Domani Jackson announced that he would return for his senior season.

Defensive lineman LT Overton and linebackers Deontae Lawson and Justin Jefferson have also announced their returns for 2025.

Alabama opens the 2025 season against Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Aug. 30.

[lawrence-related id=99719,99634,99708,99696,99662]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama news and notes, plus opinions. 

Danny Sprinkle offers injury update on center Franck Kepnang

Danny Sprinkle is hoping to get Franck Kepnang back soon.

Danny Sprinkle went into his first season with the Washington Huskies hoping to have one of the nation’s top frontcourt pairings in forward Great Osobor and center Franck Kepnang.

But Kepnang, a former Oregon transfer, has played in just two games this season. His presence was undeniable, as he averaged 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game in his two appearances, but hasn’t been seen since.

At first, Sprinkle said it was just precautionary load management, which then turned into a minor knee procedure to clean things up. Sprinkle said at the end of November that he expected him to miss a few weeks, which has turned into over a month, and with five straight matchups against ranked teams staring the Huskies in the face, he’s still waiting for one of his most impactful defenders and rebounders to return to the lineup.

“Hopefully,” Sprinkle said when asked if Kepnang would be able to return for any of those games. “I don’t think he’ll be back this week, but hopefully soon. We were expecting to have him back a couple of weeks ago to be honest, so hopefully we can get him back.”

Kepnang’s tenacious energy on the defensive end and ability to finish around the rim would act as a big boost for Great Osobor on offense. Washington’s star saw plenty of attention from Illinois’ defense in an 81-77 loss, and could free up some scoring opportunities for the touted Utah State transfer.

Chargers injury report: Latest update on Rashawn Slater ahead of wild-card game vs. Texans

The Chargers had nine limited participants on Tuesday.

The Chargers had their first practice on Tuesday in preparation for Saturday’s wild-card game against the Texans.

Los Angeles had nine limited participants on the injury report, including offensive tackle Rashawn Slater.

Slater missed the regular season finale against the Raiders after he felt discomfort in his knee in the pregame stretch.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh did not provide much information today, but it’s a good sign that he practiced in some capacity.

The other limited participants were the following players:

RB J.K. Dobbins (ankle)

RB Gus Edwards (ankle)

WR Simi Fehoko (elbow)

OL Zion Johnson (ankle)

WR Quentin Johnston (thigh)

LB Denzel Perryman (groin)

OL Trey Pipkins (oblique)

CB Ja’Sir Taylor (oblique)

Wide receiver Joshua Palmer did not practice on Tuesday. Palmer sustained a heel injury in Week 17 against the Patriots that kept him sidelined in Week 18.

Texas-Ohio State Cotton Bowl ticket prices plummet ahead of snow storm

With a major snow storm moving into the Dallas area, ticket prices for the Cotton Bowl between Ohio State and Texas are in free-fall.

Last week, tickets for the Cotton Bowl between Texas and Ohio State were soaring. The sky-rocketing prices had seen nose-bleed tickets for the CFP Semifinal in Arlington eclipse 50-yard line seats for the Peach Bowl.

The cheapest tickets on SeatGeek were $354 in section 436, the highest tier at AT&T Stadium. Most upper deck tickets were north of $500. 50-yard line seats at the Cotton Bowl were running around $1,800.

But as the temperature has dropped in North Texas, so have the ticket prices. Many Ohio State fans have cancelled their trips and have flooded the secondary ticket market. A lot of Longhorns fans have decided to cancel their trips to Dallas too.

Tickets that cost $500+ last week are down to $175 dollars now ahead of the storm on SeatGeek. The highest price seat is under $1,200.

The Dallas area is bracing for a snow storm Thursday what will make travel tricky to impossible based on where fans are coming from. The current forecast predicts one of the Top 5 snow fall event in DFW history. With so many travel cancelations, the Longhorns may have a bigger home crowd advantage than first anticipated.

[afflinkbutton text=”Get your Cotton Bowl No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State Ticket’s” link=”https://seatgeek.com/goodyear-cotton-bowl-classic-tickets/ncaa-football/2025-01-10-6-30-pm/6400862?irclickid=38C2oJQqPxyKU7N2YPyM4Q5OUkCS8GX9QTMo340&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=USA+TODAY+Sports+Media+Group&utm_term=1205322&utm_content=&pid=USA+TODAY+Sports+Media+Group&aid=16137&adid=1205322&irgwc=1″]

Key things to know about Texans’ wild-card opponent: Chargers

Here’s some quick hits to know about the Los Angeles Chargers entering the wild-card round showdown on Saturday.

The Houston Texans return to NRG Stadium to face off against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round on Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

To preview the matchup, here are some key things to know about Houston.

How Houston finished the regular season

The Chargers finished with an 11-6 record, winning three of their last four games, including two by 14-plus points. Against playoff teams, Los Angeles posted a 3-4 record, including a 0-2 record against No. 1 seed Kansas City.

Luck Ladd

Justin Herbert is the headliner out west, but he’s had a reliable weapon in Ladd McConkey. The second-round pick out of Georgia has been a consistent target in the slot, averaging 5.2 catches per game and 14.0 yards a reception. He also has three 100-yard outings, including a career-best 123-yard performance against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Win on third down

The Chargers enter Saturday not only boasting the NFL’s top-scoring defense, but also featuring a top-five defense on third-down efficiency. Headlined by All-Pro safety Derwin James, Los Angeles is allowing opponents to convert on 35.7% of drives.

Houston, which is coming off a 23-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, ranked 20th in conversion rating at 37.6% per outing.

Red zone dominance

Bobby Slowik’s play-calling must be elite inside the 20. Los Angeles’ defense not only leads the league in scoring but also opposing red-zone touchdown percentage. Teams are scoring at a 44.6% success rate.

Slowing down Nick Bosa and Khalil Mack might be the key for Houston if it plans on scoring. The Bolts duo under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter finished with 11 total sacks. Bud Dupree, the No. 3 rotational specialist, also recorded six sacks in 15 games.

Other notes

  • The Chargers are 10th  in third-down conversion rate and 3rd in turnover margin.
  • Herbert leads the NFL in touchdown-to-interception ratio with 23 passing TDs against 3 INTs
  • The Chargers have the second-fewest giveaways (14)
  • Los Angeles has allowed 44 sacks this season, 23 of which have come up from up the middle.
  • While a balanced offense, the Chargers are averaging 213.5 passing yards per game. Eight different players have caught a touchdown pass from Herbert.

Transfer portal WR target predicted to land with Iowa football

On the heels of the Mark Gronowski news, Iowa football is projected to land a transfer portal WR.

The Iowa Hawkeyes may not be done adding via the NCAA transfer portal just quite yet.

On the heels of a program-changing move landing Mark Gronowski, one of the top transfer portal quarterbacks coming from South Dakota State where he won two national championships, Iowa could see their offensive firepower grow.

Soon after news broke of Gronowski’s commitment to Iowa, more news has come from On3 predicting Iowa as the landing spot for one of their transfer portal wide receiver targets.

On3’s Pete Nakos has recently logged Iowa as the prediction for the landing spot of Chattanooga transfer wide receiver Sam Phillips.

Sam Phillips, the product of Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia, has spent three seasons with the Chattanooga Mocs.

He has reeled in 153 receptions for 2,088 yards and nine touchdowns in the three years with Chattanooga. Phillips’ 2024 season saw him finish with 49 receptions for 803 yards and three touchdowns.

His best game of the season came against Georgia State where he had eight receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown. In his lone contest against a Power Five program, Phillips registered five receptions for 54 yards against a stout Tennessee Volunteers defense.

Coming out of high school, Phillips, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, has a three-star transfer portal rating after only being offered by Chattanooga out of high school.

Sam Phillips will carry one year of eligibility with him.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Riley on Twitter: @rileydonald7

2025 Sony Open prop bet picks and PGA Tour predictions

Analyzing the odds for the 2025 Sony Open with PGA Tour picks and predictions for the top prop bets.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”4141″ ]

The new PGA Tour season continues this week with the 2025 Sony Open, the second event on the calendar. It will once again be held at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, with the first round beginning on Thursday morning.

Below, we search for the best value prop bets for the Sony Open from BetMGM Sportsbook’s PGA Tour odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.

Hideki Matsuyama will try to make it 2 wins in a row after taking the title at The Sentry last week, and he’s the betting favorite at +900 in Honolulu. Corey Conners, Tom Kim and Russell Henley are among the other top contenders, as is Sahith Theegala.

Waialae Country Club is a par 70 course that plays at only 7,044 yards, featuring narrow, tree-lined fairways and 85 bunkers around the property. It requires accuracy off the tee, unlike the Plantation Course at Kapalua last week, so it’s a very different course than the one from last week’s event on Maui. Still, it typically yields low scores, with the winner being between 11-under and 27-under each year since 2010. Last year’s winning score was 17-under 263 by the late Grayson Murray.

WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+

Sony Open – Top-5 picks

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of PGA Tour odds. Lines last updated Tuesday at 6:12 p.m. ET.

Byeong Hun An (+400)

An finished second in this event last year and also came in 12th in 2023, so he’s had back-to-back strong showing at Waialae in the last 2 years. He’s one of the best ball-strikers in the field, which this course emphasizes more than Kapalua did last week.

Keegan Bradley (+450)

Like An, Bradley also lost to Murray in a playoff last year, his second top-12 finish in the last 3 years at this event. He started this season well with a T-15 at The Sentry last week and will try to carry that momentum into Honolulu.

Sony Open – Top-10 picks

Chris Kirk (+400)

Kirk has finished second and third at the Sony Open in the last 4 years, never finishing worse than 27th in that span. He won The Sentry in 2024 and though he didn’t play well in his title defense last week, he’s had success in Hawaii over the years.

Tom Kim (+188)

This course rewards accuracy off the tee and good ball-striking, so Kim should be a factor come Sunday. His putting still needs to improve but with how small the greens are this week, he should have more birdie looks than most players with how solid he is from tee to green.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”4132″ ]

Sony Open – Top-20 picks

Nick Taylor (+300)

In his last 3 starts at the Sony Open, Taylor has finished 11th once and seventh twice. He’s learned how to plot his way around Waialae Country Club and could find himself near the top of the leaderboard again come Sunday.

Tom Hoge (+220)

Hoge is a terrific iron player who should have success at a course like Waialae where distance isn’t rewarded. His best finishes in this event since 2018 are third and 12th and he got off to a good start at The Sentry last week with an opening-round 64 before drifting in the next 3 rounds.

Sony Open – Matchups

Suggested play is golfer in bold.

Chris Kirk (-110) vs. Harry Hall (-110)

Hall has only played this tournament twice, finishing 28th in 2023 and 42nd last year. It’s not as if he’s had a lot of success, whereas Kirk has come in second, 27th, third and 18th in the last 4 years. There’s no way this matchup should be -110 on each side.

Sony Open – Top Canadian

Nick Taylor (+850)

Taylor’s history here is laid out above and in this betting market, there are 4 players with the same or shorter odds than Taylor to be the top Canadian: Conners (+175), Taylor Pendrith (+333), Mackenzie Hughes (+500) and Adam Svensson (+850). He has 3 top-11 finishes in the last 3 years here and should not be this far down the board.

Sony Open – First-round leader

Tom Hoge (+6000)

Hoge was the first-round leader last week at The Sentry with a 64 on Thursday, so he’ll try to make it back-to-back hot starts. He’s had varying levels of success at Waialae but at +6000, he’s worth a sprinkle.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”6305″ ]

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Golfweek:

Follow @camdasilva on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1364]

Alabama transfer linebacker announces commitment to Big 12 program

The Alabama freshman is heading to the Big 12.

After having entered the transfer portal earlier this month, Alabama Crimson Tide true freshman outside linebacker Jayshawn Ross has now announced an official commitment to the Kansas State Wildcats.

Ross is the latest Crimson Tide player to announce a 2025 playing decision, joining others such as Amari Jefferson and Ty Lockwood to do so Tuesday, Jan. 7.

RELATED: Where have Alabama transfer portal entrants committed to play in 2025?

Ross previously came to Alabama a year ago as a member of the Crimson Tide’s 2024 recruiting class, rated as a four-star edge rusher out of Liberty North High School in Missouri. The former four-star however did not play much during his lone season with the Crimson Tide, not recording any stats in 2024.

With the commitment of Ross to Kansas State, a total of five Alabama transfers will now play in the Big 12 next season, joining Jehiem Oatis (Colorado), Jahlil Hurley (Kansas), Kobe Prentice (Baylor), and Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (Kansas).

Texans vs. Chargers injury report: Latest updates, news for Tuesday

Here’s the injury report for both the Texans and Chargers following Tuesday’s practice.

Here are the full injury reports from Tuesday’s practice for the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers ahead of their wild-card round showdown on Saturday at NRG Stadium.

Houston Texans (10-7)

DID NOT PRACTICE

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 18 loss to Chargers

Breaking down the best and worst individual performances in the Raiders season-ending loss to the Chargers.

The 2024 NFL season came to a close for the Raiders on Sunday. Not for the Chargers, however, they had already punched their ticket for the playoffs. But they were playing for better seeding and the game played out very much like these two teams had very different fates.

Ballers

WR Jakobi Meyers

This game saw Meyers have his second career 100-yard game and, in turn, his first career 1000-yard season.

The Raiders had three scoring drives in the game. The first gave them a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. That drive saw Meyers catch three passes for 35 yards.

The second scoring drive he had a 22-yard catch and then the touchdown from 26 yards out. He had a 24-yard catch in the fourth quarter that put him over 1000 yards on the season and put the Raiders in field goal range, but they needed a touchdown and the drive ended with a turnover on downs.

DT Jonah Laulu, DT Zach Carter

The Chargers’ first drive ended in a three-and-out with Laulu making the run stuff for no gain on third and one. A couple drives later, Laulu got pressure up the middle to force an incompletion and the Chargers settled for a field goal to tie it up at 3-3.

Late in the second quarter, Carter got in the passing lane to bat a pass down on a drive that went for a field goal. He would then end the first drive of the third quarter with consecutive run stuffs for no gain from the one yard line. Laulu had a couple run stuffs early in the drive, including a tackle for loss.

Each of them would have run stops in goal to go on the Chargers’ final scoring drive, though the Chargers would eventually get in on third and goal from the two to put the game away.

LT Kolton Miller

The one sack that came from his man was not his fault. Aidan O’Connell was attempting to escape pressure up the middle and ran into the sack. Miller had a flawless game in protection.

Continue to the Busters…