Tag: Alabama Football

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban to be inducted to College Football Hall of Fame

The former Alabama coach is headed to the Hall of Fame.

Prior to kickoff of Friday night’s College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns, an announcement was made as part of ESPN’s “College GameDay” that former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban will be inducted later this year to the College Football Hall of Fame.

As part of the announcement, Saban will be the headline name in the College Football Hall of Fame 2025 class, with the official induction to come this December.

Prior to announcing his retirement a year ago, Saban was the head coach at Alabama from 2007-23 where he led the Crimson Tide to a combined record of 206-29. Over those 17 seasons, Saban also led Alabama to six national championships, nine SEC titles, and many more honors.

Saban also spent time collegiately earlier in his career at LSU and Michigan State, the former of which he won a national title at in 2003.

A video of the announcement from Friday night’s edition of “College GameDay” can be found below.

Former Alabama football offensive coordinator to interview for NFL head coaching job

An NFL team is giving this former Nick Saban assistant an interview for its head coaching job.

A former Alabama football offensive coordinator and Nick Saban assistant is set to interview for the New York Jets’ head coaching job, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.

Mike Locksley, who served on Saban’s staff as offensive coordinator in 2018, was scheduled to interview for the Jets’ job Friday.

“The #Jets are spending a portion of today interviewing #Maryland HC Mike Locksley, as the former #Bama OC and current Terps coach gets his another NFL interview,” Rapoport wrote on social media Friday, adding that, “NYJ’s expansive search has left no stone unturned, taking a look at a leader and culture-setter in college.”

RELATED: Breaking down the expansive coaching tree under the legendary Nick Saban

In Locksley’s one season as offensive coordinator at Alabama, the Crimson Tide started the season 14-0 behind Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback before losing to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers in the national championship game. Locksley left Alabama for the head coaching job at Maryland, where he’s been ever since.

Locksley has a record of 32-36 at Maryland’s head coach since his first season in 2019, including a 4-8 season in 2024. According to USA TODAY’s College Football Head Coach Salary Database, Locksley took home $5,801,900 — 37th among public FBS schools in salary, and one spot higher than Colorado’s Deion Sanders.

Locksley came to Alabama as an offensive analyst before the 2016 season. He worked his way into an on-field role the following year when he was wide receivers coach with Brian Daboll as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide defeated Georgia, 26-23, on Tagovailoa’s 41-yard game-winning touchdown to DeVonta in overtime to win the national championship that season.

Daboll, incidentally, is the head coach of the New York Giants.

Locksley is likely a long shot at best for the Jets job, but it’s worth noting that the organization turned to Saban’s friend and advisor Phil Savage as their acting GM to finish out the 2024 season.

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Alabama transfer linebacker announces commitment to SEC program

An Alabama transfer will now play the Crimson Tide in 2025.

One of the more surprising transfer portal entrants this offseason, Alabama Crimson Tide inside linebacker Justin Okoronkwo has now officially made his playing decision for the 2025 season, committing to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday morning.

Okoronkwo, who was a true freshman during the 2024 season, previously entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month after Alabama’s loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

During the 2024 season, Okoronkwo primarily played a special teams role for the Crimson Tide. Over the course of the season, Okoronkwo made 14 tackles with one TFL.

Prior to Alabama, Okoronkwo was a member of the Crimson Tide’s 2024 recruiting class, and was an international prospect who ranked as a three-star linebacker out of Germany.

Looking ahead, Okoronkwo will also face his former team as early as next season, as Alabama is currently set to travel to South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 25. The time of the game is currently to be determined.

Alabama wide receiver announces return for 2025 season

Alabama’s leading pass catcher will return in 2025.

One of the biggest NFL draft decisions remaining on the Alabama Crimson Tide’s roster has now been made, as wide receiver Germie Bernard officially announced Wednesday afternoon that he would be returning to Tuscaloosa for the 2025 season.

A transfer from Washington last offseason, Bernard enjoyed one of the best single-season’s of his collegiate career in 2024, hauling in 50 receptions for 794 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 37 yards and a score on four attempts.

Of those numbers, Bernard’s 50 receptions were the most of any Alabama player this past season, while his 794 receiving yards were his second to only freshman Ryan Williams.

For his collegiate career, Bernard’s totals now sit at a combined 91 receptions for 1,341 yards and six touchdowns across the last three seasons at Michigan State, Washington, and Alabama.

With the return of Bernard, Alabama’s top three wide receivers are likely set for the 2025 season, with the rising senior set to feature alongside Williams and Miami transfer Isaiah Horton.

Alabama linebacker, former 5-star prospect transferring to ACC program

The former Alabama linebacker is heading to the ACC.

An official transfer decision for Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Jeremiah Alexander was made Wednesday morning, as the former highly-touted high school prospect announced his commitment to the Clemson Tigers.

Alexander had previously entered the transfer portal earlier this month, and joins a list of others to make a decision so far this week alongside the likes of Elijah Pritchett, Ty Lockwood, Amari Jefferson, and more.

RELATED: Where have Alabama transfers committed since entering the portal?

A former five-star prospect, as well as the nation’s top edge rusher, out of the Crimson Tide’s 2022 recruiting class, Alexander has primarily played inside linebacker across the past three seasons at Alabama in which he has a total of nine tackles.

This past season, Alexander posted a career-high of five tackles across 10 games played as a backup at inside linebacker, sitting behind the trio of Deontae Lawson, Jihaad Campbell, and Justin Jefferson on the depth chart.

‘College GameDay’ announces CFP semifinals location: Here’s where Nick Saban will be

Here’s where Nick Saban and College GameDay will be for the CFP semifinals this week.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” has announced its locations for the semifinal rounds of the College Football Playoff.

GameDay is headed to both Miami for the Orange Bowl showdown between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 6 Penn State at Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday, and to Arlington for Friday’s Cotton Bowl matchup between No. 8 Ohio State and No. 5 Texas at AT&T Stadium.

Both games are scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. GameDay will be broadcasting at 5 p.m. both days.

For Saban, he’s seen the Buckeyes more than any other team (besides Alabama) since his retirement last January. Friday will mark the sixth time this season alone that GameDay will be on site for an Ohio State football game — and the third straight week.

The Buckeyes routed No. 1 Oregon, 41-21, at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day to advance to the semifinals of the playoffs. Texas survived Arizona State, 39-31, in double overtime at the Peach Bowl.

Nick Saban had perfect record at Cotton Bowl, Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium

The Cotton Bowl venue in particular holds a lot of fond memories for Saban and Alabama fans. Saban’s Crimson Tide teams were a perfect 6-0 in the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium, starting with their 41-14 victory over Michigan to open the 2012 season en route to their third national championship in four years.

Alabama returned there for the 2015 season opener against Wisconsin and made the trek back to Arlington later that year for the Cotton Bowl against Michigan State on New Year’s Eve, a 38-0 Crimson Tide romp of Mark Dantonio’s Spartans. Alabama won the national championship a week later against Clemson.

In 2016, Alabama opened the year against USC with a 52-6 beatdown in a game that saw more fight from the Crimson Tide sidelines than the team the Trojans put on the field that night. Saban teams won two more times in Arlington — 31-14 vs. Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day 2021, played that year in Arlington instead of Pasadena, and 27-6 vs. Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl 364 days later.

Saban teams were 2-0 at the Orange Bowl venue, crushing Notre Dame 42-14 for the national championship in January 2013, and holding on for a 45-34 win over Kyler Murray and Oklahoma in the 2018 Orange Bowl in the semifinal round of the playoffs.

College football is having its first postseason without Saban as the head coach of a program that appeared in the four-team Playoff more times than any other since its debut in 2014. All told, Saban guided Alabama to the four-team Playoff eight times and failed to qualify only twice, in 2019 and 2022.

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Alabama starting offensive guard announces return for 2025 season

Yet another Alabama offensive lineman will return in 2025.

On Tuesday night, starting Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts made an official announcement on social media that he would return to Tuscaloosa for the 2025 season.

With the decision of Roberts to return, Alabama now has three starters along the offensive line that will be back next season, joined by left tackle Kadyn Proctor and center Parker Brailsford.

The other two, left guard Tyler Booker and right tackle Elijah Pritchett, have since announced that they will not return in 2025. Booker declared for the 2025 NFL draft, while Pritchett recently entered the transfer portal.

As for Roberts, the former four-star prospect out of the 2021 class is coming off a 2024 season in which he started 11 games at right guard for Alabama. Roberts also started eight games for the Crimson Tide in 2023, and enters his redshirt senior season in 2025 as the favorite to start at right guard once again, as well as be one of the SEC’s top players at the position.

Alabama reportedly targeting former player for defensive backs coach

Alabama is reportedly targeting a former play as an assistant.

According to a report Tuesday from Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, the Alabama Crimson Tide are targeting former player and Tuscaloosa native Jason Jones for an assistant defensive backs coaching role with the program.

This report comes just a few days after Jones was reportedly headed to East Carolina to become the cornerbacks coach for the Pirates, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.

A former Alabama defensive back in the late 1990’s, Jones has spent the past two seasons as the cornerbacks coach at North Carolina. Prior to that, Jones served in roles such as safeties coach at Indiana from 2020-22, as well as most notably at Ole Miss where he was the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 2013-18.

Jones also originally began his coaching career at Alabama back in 2003-04, serving as a graduate assistant not long after his playing days with the Crimson Tide came to an end.

Could the former Alabama player and coach potentially be making a return to Tuscaloosa?

Former Alabama TE Ty Lockwood to transfer to Boston College

Former Alabama TE Ty Lockwood teaming up with former Crimson Tide OC Bill O’Brien at Boston College.

After entering the NCAA transfer portal on Saturday, former Alabama Crimson Tide TE Ty Lockwood has announced that he will continue his collegiate career with Boston College. Lockwood will have a chance to reunite with QB Dylan Lonergan who also departed from Tuscaloosa this off-season.

Former Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien took over the Boston College job last February and guided them to a 7-6 record in his first year and clearly still has some connections in Tuscaloosa. Both Lockwood and Lonergan are massive additions for the Golden Eagles and will likely compete for starting roles.

Lockwood was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, but never truly cracked into Alabama’s rotation. He finishes his time in Tuscaloosa with just one reception for five yards and still has three years of eligibility remaining.

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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.

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