Tag: bama football

Trial By Fire: Texas newcomers face their biggest test on Saturday

Texas needs its offensive line to “play big” on Saturday.

The Texas Longhorns get ready for what could be their most watched regular season game in school history this Saturday. They will take on the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in Austin.

With reliable options at wide receiver, running back and tight end, the focus on the team will be directed to the offensive line.

The matchup is hardly a fair fight. On the Alabama side stands the No. 1 player in college football, Will Anderson. Anderson has wreaked havoc at edge over the last two seasons. On the other side is Dallas Turner, another productive edge player.

Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones come in at tackle for Texas. Jones has struggled in pass protection over his career, while Kelvin Banks will presumably make his second college start. Both players played well last week, but Alabama is an entirely different challenge.

Undoubtedly, Steve Sarkisian has something special planned for Alabama. Nevertheless, keeping the game close will be a difficult task.

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Bryce Young’s Heisman encore starts with 6 TDs vs. Utah State

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young found the end zone six times Saturday, and sat for most of the second half

How do you follow up a Heisman Trophy season?

If you’re Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, you score six touchdowns in a little over a half of work.

That’s what last year’s Heisman winner did Saturday in the Crimson Tide’s 55-0 blowout win over Utah State, throwing for 195 yards and five touchdowns, while adding 100 more yards and another score on the ground.

Young sat for most of the second half, making his stat line all the more impressive as the Tide coasted to a season-opening shutout.

Things might be a bit tougher next week when Young and Bama head to Austin to face Texas, but . . . maybe not?

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WATCH: Alabama’s Will Anderson announces his presence with authority

Watch Alabama’s Will Anderson pick up where he left off, as the most dominant player in all of college football

You could make a strong argument that Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson shouldn’t have just been invited to last year’s Heisman Trophy ceremony, but that he should have taken home the award himself.

The most dominant player in college football last season, Anderson is picking up where he left off, acquainting himself with a Utah State running back early in Saturday’s 55-0 blowout win.

Anderson may not get the hardware he deserves at the college level, but he might just be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

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PFF’s preseason SEC football power rankings

Pro Football Focus has ranked the top five teams in the SEC ahead of the 2022 college football season. Where is UGA?

Pro Football Focus has ranked the best teams in the SEC before the start of the 2022 college football season. The conference won another national championship in 2022 and has two highly-ranked teams again in Georgia and Alabama.

This year, Alabama is expected to return to the throne. How does PFF rank the SEC?

The conference has a slew of teams like Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas that are all trying to have a breakout season and make a New Year’s Six bowl game. Last season, Ole Miss surprised quite a few folks and won 10 regular season games, but the Rebels fell in the Sugar Bowl to Baylor.

Where does the conference stack up behind the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide?

UGA football in top group for 5-star James Smith

The Georgia Bulldogs are in the top six for five-star defensive lineman James Smith and his high school teammate Jaquavious Russaw

Five-star defensive lineman James Smith is planning to play college football with five-star edge rusher Qua Russaw, who is his high school teammate. Both recruits named Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, Alabama State and Ohio State as their top six.

Both are highly ranked members of the class of 2023. The dynamic defensive duo plays high school football for Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama.

Smith is the top-rated recruit in Alabama and the second-ranked defensive lineman in the class of 2023. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive lineman is the No. 13 recruit in his class.

Carver’s James Smith plays running lanes during a spring game between Carver and Jeff Davis in Montgomery, Alabama. Photo by The Montgomery Advertiser/Jake Crandall

Smith is one of the top uncommitted prospects in the country. A commitment from Smith and Russaw could give Alabama, Georgia or Ohio State the top recruiting class in the country.

The Carver standout also plays basketball.

Kirby Smart and Georgia football have commitments from two defensive linemen in the class of of 2023, Seven Cloud and Jamaal Jarrett.

The five-star defensive lineman named his top schools via Twitter:

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5-star edge rusher Qua Russaw names top schools

UGA football is in Qua Russaw’s top six.

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for five-star edge rusher Qua Russaw.

Russaw is a member of the class of 2023. He plays high school football for Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama. Russaw is high school teammates with another five-star recruit in James Smith, who has an identical top six to Russaw. The duo is expected to play together in college.

It is always tough to convince the best players in Alabama to leave the state. The Alabama Crimson Tide tend to dominate in-state recruiting, but Georgia has landed one commitment from a five-star recruit in Alabama this recruiting cycle.

The five-star outside linebacker is the No. 26 recruit in his class and the third-ranked edge rusher in the class of 2023. Qua Russaw’s the fifth-best recruit in Alabama per 247Sports. Russaw has improved his recruiting ranking significantly since the beginning of the 2021 high school football season.

Qua Russaw considers his tops six schools to be Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Ohio State, Florida, and Alabama State.

Russaw has to be impressed with Georgia’s defensive performance during the 2021 college football season and the Bulldogs’ record showing at the 2022 NFL draft.

The Carver High School star received a scholarship offer from the University of Georgia in Sept. 2021. The Carver star has recently visited Georgia, Auburn, and Florida.

Kirby Smart and Georgia have a top-five ranked recruiting class of 2023. The Dawgs have 18 total commitments in the class.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound edge rusher named his top six schools via Twitter:

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2023 NFL draft: Alabama’s top prospects to watch

Check out the top prospects eligible for the 2023 NFL draft from the Alabama Crimson Tide

College football is right around the corner, and this season is sure to reveal plenty of talented prospects as they prepare for the next level.

Here are the top prospects from Alabama who are eligible for the 2023 NFL draft:

WATCH: Bryce Young gets tossed into cold tub by Alabama teammates

Watch the Heisman Trophy winner get dunked by his fellow Crimson Tide teammates

Even a Heisman Trophy winner isn’t safe from a little good-natured ribbing from his teammates.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young found this out when some of his fellow Crimson Tide members launched him into the team’s cold tub, captured on video for all to see by Bama safety Malachi Moore.

Don’t be surprised if opposing defenses aren’t quite as successful this season when it comes to tossing Young around behind the line of scrimmage, though.

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Alabama QB Bryce Young draws comparison to future Hall of Famer

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has a similar skill set to one of the best quarterbacks of the last generation

Bill Shakespeare had it right when he said that expectation is the root of all heartache, and it’s just as true for evaluating quarterback prospects as anything else.

That’s why it’s dangerous to make comparisons between a talented passer who still has another year of college ball ahead of him, and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who set numerous records and won a Super Bowl during his long career.

Even so, it’s hard not to agree with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah when he says that Alabama’s Bryce Young has shades of Drew Brees in his game:

There really isn’t a clean comparison for Young. However, I see the most similarities to a young Drew Brees. Both guys lack ideal size, but they make up for it with elite processing and accuracy. I think Brees was a similar athlete at that stage of his career. They are pure point guards. The ball comes out quick and the placement is excellent.

Young is coming off an incredible 2021 season that saw him win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Crimson Tide to an SEC title before falling just short of another national championship with a loss to Georgia.

While it’s true that Young lacks the ideal size of an NFL quarterback, he’s already proven that he has elite tools in just about every other area, and he’s proven his ability to beat even the most talented defenses in college football despite any physical limitations.

If he continues his current development track, Young should be in the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

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4-star LB Damon Wilson names top schools

Four-star linebacker recruit Damon Wilson plays football for Venice High School

Four-star class of 2023 linebacker recruit Damon Wilson named his top five schools ahead of his final high school football season. Wilson plays for Venice High School in Venice, Florida.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound edge rusher won the 8A state championship in Florida this past season. He made a clutch interception in the state title game.

Wilson has also participated on the school’s weight lifting team. Impressively, Wilson recorded 15 sacks during the 2021 high school football season and was named as the Herald-Tribune Defensive Player of the Year, per 247Sports.

Who are Wilson’s top five schools?