Tag: Emil Ekiyor

55 days until Alabama football kicks off the 2024 season

In 55 days Alabama football will kickoff the 2024 season inside Bryant-Denny Stadium!

In 55 days, Kalen DeBoer will usher in a new era of Alabama Crimson Tide football, replacing the legendary [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] as head coach in Tuscaloosa.

Coach DeBoer and the Crimson Tide will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Aug. 31 to kick off the 2024 college football season inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

At Roll Tide Wire, we will count down the days until Alabama football takes the field.

Legendary Crimson Tide player Derrick Thomas wore No. 55 for the Tide but today we will look back at former Alabama offensive lineman who wore No. 55, [autotag]Emil Ekiyor[/autotag].

Ekiyor started 38 games for the Crimson Tide and appeared in 50 games in his five-year career with Alabama.

Ekiyor was signed by his hometown Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL draft.

Freshman offensive lineman [autotag]Roq Montgomery[/autotag] currently wears No. 55 for the Crimson Tide.

Emil Ekiyor’s Photo Gallery

Colts make 9 roster cuts

The Colts made some initial roster cuts Sunday.

The Indianapolis Colts made their first roster cuts Sunday ahead of the Tuesday deadline.

With the preseason officially over, the Colts will be working over the next few days to trim the roster down to 53 players.

Here’s a look at the initial roster cuts Sunday, which included seven waived players and two others who were released outright:

Stock report from Colts’ preseason win over Bears

Here’s the stock report from the Colts’ preseason win over the Bears.

The Indianapolis Colts grabbed their first win of the preseason Saturday night in a 24-17 victory over the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Despite the starters getting rest after the joint training camp practices, there were still plenty of players grinding for their spots on the roster with cut-down day quickly approaching.

When taking stock of a player’s performance, it’s best to be fluid. A player’s stock will fall and rise throughout the preseason so none of this is set in stone. But it is important to take note of the narratives and storylines taking place as the regular season quickly approaches.

A player’s stock can be impacted by their performance or the type of snaps they receive during the preseason.

Here’s the stock report from the Colts’ preseason win over the Bears:

Stock up, Stock down from Colts’ preseason loss to Bills

Here’s the stock report from the Colts’ preseason loss against the Bills.

The Indianapolis Colts officially began the preseason with a 23-19 loss Saturday against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

We got to see the starters take the field for the first quarter while the second and third teams got the majority of the work during the final three quarters of the game.

When taking stock of a player’s performance, it’s best to be fluid. A player’s stock will fall and rise throughout the preseason so none of this is set in stone. But it is important to take note of the narratives and storylines taking place as the regular season quickly approaches.

A player’s stock can be impacted by their performance or the type of snaps they receive during the preseason.

Here’s a look at the stock watch for the Colts following the preseason opener:

Studs and duds from Colts’ preseason loss to Bills

Studs and duds from the Colts’ preseason opener against the Bills.

The Indianapolis Colts opened their preseason with a 23-19 loss against the Buffalo Bills on the road at Highmark Stadium on Saturday.

Marking the first time we’ve seen the Colts play under a new regime led by rookie head coach Shane Steichen. There were plenty of highs and lows from the preseason opener.

This will focus solely on those who performed well and those who failed to make a strong impression Saturday. Most of these players will have a chance to build off their performances, either good or bad, over the next two weeks.

Here are the studs and duds from preseason Week 1 opener against the Bills.

5 Colts players with the most to gain at training camp

These Colts have the most to gain at training camp in 2023.

With training camp around the corner, the Indianapolis Colts can look forward to a clean slate from last season and a chance to improve.

Head coach Shane Steichen is leading the charge and fans can expect that, at minimum, a culture shift will happen.

With a culture shift comes a change in mindset and a push for growth for many players.

Here are five Colts players with the most to gain at training camp this year:

7 Colts rookies to watch at training camp

Rookies will be all the rage at Colts training camp.

The Indianapolis Colts are opening up their training camp on July 26 at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield.

This season they will be leaning on having major contributions from their rookie class. It’s a new era for the franchise and one that includes a new direction with a fresh face at the quarterback position along with several additions to the defensive side of the ball.

Here are seven first-year players to watch when training camp kicks off later this month:

Alabama football countdown to kickoff: 55 days

It is just 55 days until the Alabama Crimson Tide kickoff its 2023 football season!

The Alabama Crimson Tide will take the field for the 2023 college football season in 55 days, as Middle Tennessee State visits Bryant Denny Stadium on Sept. 2.

Here at Roll Tide Wire, we will be counting down the days until Nick Saban and his team take the field.

Today, with just 55 days remaining, we will look at one of Alabama’s former starters along the offensive line, [autotag]Emil Ekiyor[/autotag].

Ekiyor started 38 games for the Crimson Tide and appeared in a total of 50 games in his five-year career with Alabama.

Ekiyor was signed by his hometown Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL draft.

Freshman offensive lineman Roq Montgomery currently wears No. 55 for the Crimson Tide.

Emil Ekiyor’s Photo Gallery

5 UDFAs with best chance to make Colts’ roster

Taking a look at which undrafted rookie free agents have the best chance to make the Colts roster.

The Indianapolis Colts had the longest active streak of having an undrafted free agent (UDFA) rookie make the 53-man roster, which lasted for 22 years in a row until it ended in 2021.

A new one has potentially started after seeing four UDFA rookies make the team last year. UDFAs face an uphill battle to make the roster because even with a great preseason performance, a general manager can still give the edge to a drafted player or someone they invested money into.

The best pathway for a UDFA to make an NFL roster is to join a position group that lacks depth. With that being considered, here are five UDFAs on Indy’s roster that have the best to be on the team for the season opener:

Colts’ Chris Ballard ranked 17th among NFL GMs

Colts GM Chris Ballard was ranked 17th among NFL GMs.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

With another offseason comes more time to evaluate the state of the NFL. This includes assessing critical leadership positions, like the general managers of all 32 teams.

NBC Sports writer Patrick Daugherty has released his 2023 rankings of the league’s general managers. Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard lands in the middle of the pack at No. 17.

Ballard is down six spots from the 2022 rankings and eleven from the 2021 rankings.

Chris Ballard has lost control of this ride, but he doesn’t want off. At one point famous for assembling one of the league’s most complete rosters, Ballard is now better known as the general manager who loves elderly or washed-up quarterbacks, sometimes at the same time. Not anymore. Ballard took owner Jim Irsay’s not-so-subtle Jeff Saturday hint. No more thinking small. Ballard shattered his Philip Rivers mold with April’s selection of Florida QB Anthony Richardson. Quite literally everything Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan were not, Richardson arrives with the widest range of potential outcomes as any quarterback in recent memory. Thankfully, he won’t be working with Saturday. Ballard made a solid hire at head coach when he plucked Shane Steichen away from the Eagles. In his two short years under Nick Sirianni, Steichen gained invaluable experience with dual-threat quarterbacks, run-based offenses and more pass-heavy schemes. He will be ready for whatever Richardson’s inexperience throws at him. That’s good because the rest of the roster has fallen from its 2019-20 heights. Now that he has finally settled his biggest question, Ballard can get back to work on rebuilding his offensive line and stockpiling defensive difference makers.

Ballard has lost some ground, far removed from being considered one of the top general managers in the league just a few seasons ago. The 2022 season was perhaps the most tumultuous in recent memory for Ballard. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time as bad decisions for several seasons since Andre Luck retired came back to haunt the team.

It all came crashing down with a 4-12-1 record and an end-of-season press conference where Ballard emphatically stated, “I failed.” He openly admitted that he made several missteps that landed the Colts in their position that day. In his words, he was very “dogmatic” and “bullish” in certain areas, costing the organization.

The brutal but honest assessment from Daugherty gives Ballard credit for getting off the quarterback carousel, ending the Jeff Saturday experience, and landing Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson. Daughtery also says Ballard must rebuild the team’s offensive line and stockpile defensive playmakers.

Chris Ballard was potentially ahead of Daugherty’s thinking with the 2023 draft class. The team drafted a record 12 players, including six defensive players and two offensive linemen. Ballard also added an initial group of 15 undrafted free-agent players, including some strong candidates to make the roster, like Alabama’s Emil Ekiyor.

Time will tell if Ballard has learned from his mistakes. The climb for the Colts begins again as off-season activities are underway this week.