Player Notes

By Matt Stahl |Kevin Steele was surprised. Alabama football’s new defensive coordinator was at Miami last season in the same job, and didn’t see himself returning to Tuscaloosa, where he was Nick Saban’s first Crimson Tide defensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008 and also worked from 2013-14.Then, he got the call looking for him to return and replace Pete Golding, who left for Ole Miss.“Shocking,” Steele ...

Published Aug. 05, 2023, 3:25 p.m.By Matt Stahl |Alabama football’s 2024 recruiting class grew on Saturday, when the Crimson Tide took a commitment from wide receiver Amari Jefferson. The two-sport athlete had previously been committed to Tennessee baseball.Jefferson, who plays his high school sports at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., is rated as a four-star prospect in the 247Sports composite. ...

Published Aug. 05, 2023, 4:39 p.m.By Nick Alvarez |Bryant-Denny Stadium opened up for the first time this fall with a pristine playing surface ready for Alabam football’s Fan Day.The Crimson Tide took the field surrounded by a sparse crowd on Saturday afternoon. After the event, subscribers to the Tide’s NIL-arm Yea Alabama were able to get autographs on the field.It should be noted that these are ...

By Kevin Scarbinsky | Special to AL.comI’m not sure who needs to hear this, although the list would have to start with Finis St. John IV, Stuart Bell, Greg Byrne and Nick Saban. The thought may never have occurred to the University of Alabama’s chancellor, president, athletics director and head football coach, busy as they are with their own business, but let me offer some friendly advice in the wake ...

AUG. 5, 2023 9:33 AM PTThe USC football team is through one week of its fall training camp, just long enough for us to have some first impressions.Here’s what you need to know:Finding their way up frontUSC will have three new starters on the offensive line this season. The two returners, Justin Dedich and Jonah Monheim, are playing different positions. With all the change, there’s bound to be some ...

PUBLISHED August 4, 2023 at 2:34 p.m. | UPDATED: August 4, 2023 at 7:20 p.m.LOS ANGELES — UCLA football coach Chip Kelly has taken a pro-style approach with the Bruins and it’s continued to produce results.Kelly coached in the NFL from 2013 to 2016 as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. He runs his team practices in a similar manner to his time in the NFL and the players ...

Published Aug. 04, 2023, 2:36 p.m.By Bill Oram A state legislator criticized the University of Oregon for reportedly planning to leave the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten, calling the school a “sports merchandise operation that’s side job is educating students.”“Do major institutions exist to provide an education and have collegiate athletics as a part of it?” Rep. Paul Evans said Friday in an interview ...

By Patrick Nothaft |GRAND RAPIDS, MI – You’ll have to excuse Drake Reid for having a limited knowledge of Tyrone Wheatley’s achievements on the football field and the track.After all, the Wayne State cornerback was born in the latter part of Wheatley’s pro football career and well after he earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year recognition and All-American honors as a hurdler at the University ...

Gainesville Sun One month after being cleared on five felony pornography charges, former Florida football quarterback Jalen Kitna released a statement saying the counts filed against him were baseless."Out of respect to the legal process I have chosen to remain silent the last 8 months, knowing the accusations levied against me as a teenager were not accurate and would be proven to be not true," Kitna ...

PUBLISHED August 4, 2023 at 5:23 p.m. | UPDATED: August 4, 2023 at 7:29 p.m.While the Colorado Buffaloes practiced on Friday morning, the Pac-12 was crumbling.One week after Colorado announced its plans to leave the Pac-12 in 2024 for the Big 12, a flurry of updates from around the country came fast on Friday morning. By the afternoon, it was officially announced that Oregon and Washington would leave ...