Kane Wommack is rightly concerned about MSU’s Heisman candidate under center
Rejoice, for this is the day that we Gump. Good morning! If you’ve not seen it yet, we have the Meltdown up for Week 4, courtesy of TRL‘s newest addition, staff writer Troll ‘Bama Roll. It was a hella’ girthy meltdown too, with even mild-mannered Mizzou bringing the heat (and Michigan, man…they’d make vintage Texas proud). So, go check that out. We busted our butts on it:
Now, on to Tuesday, and let’s see what’s on tap.
Let’s begin nationally, where Miami has already started their whining…Seriously.
Alright, bud. It’s October. Wanna’ see the Sagarin SOS and rankings? Oh, what’s that? 10 SEC teams have a SOS of 30 or better? And 11 are in the Sagarin 30? What’s that SOS for Da U? Oh, 124th…Pasting HBCU teams by 70 points isn’t impressive, not even to me who bet on it.
The ‘Canes are an excellent team, very talented in fact. They have the potential to win it all. But we don’t know anything about them until they play an actual team worth a damn. The only average team Miami faced (Wake No. 58) made it competitive. So, perhaps quit worrying about your betters and start playing a real schedule?
Maybe Clemson or Va. Tech will do us a favor and hang an L on these cretins early so they’ll stop lobbying to be promoted beyond the demonstrable competence of their schedule.
I’m going to heat up my coffee and sit back to fully appreciate this offensive line porn:
Okay, watch Josh Ford the first time. The second time, watch the rest of the offensive line. When was the last time you saw them play this nasty and physical? 2020 or so, right?
And we all know the reason why too…
Klemm is him!
Besides Greg Byrne getting his raise approved yesterday (now almost $3m/per year until 2033), two Alabama legends were also extended to deals through the early 2030s, and there is a real chance they will retire in Tuscaloosa:
Well deserved to both, and particularly The Gut, who had an outstanding season last year and returns the core of a national title contender on the diamond this season.
It was expected, but I think we should at least give them a golf applause for doing so anyway: In overwhelming bipartisan fashion with 77 votes, the US Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act yesterday, five weeks before a nasty contested midterm election and amongst a divided nation. Proof that they can get to work if they aren’t concerned about scoring quick partisan wins or denying the other guy a chance at theirs.
Now, is there a chance the House will act on it before November 3rd? What do you think?
“We wanted a big bipartisan vote,” Cruz said earlier Monday. “We got a big bipartisan vote.”
But as supportive lawmakers celebrate their thundering victory, a question continues to loom: Will the legislation pass the House?
“That bill is dead,” said one Democratic House staff member.
“We have no intention to return to take up this bill before the midterm elections,” said another.
Jackasses.
So, we wait at least another month for any action on PCSA in the House. But, one thing all sides and stakeholders agree upon, is the window to act is very narrow thereafter: They have until January before a new Congress is sworn in and NIL contracts start maturing for the schools.
For a third straight week, Russell threw for over 300 yards, and for a second consecutive week, the 19-year-old was named one the Davey O’Brien Elite 8 Quarterbacks. I remind you again, he came into this season with 14 career passes, and has now been a Davey E8 in half of his starts.
Keelon Russell, Alabama, So., 6-3, 207, Duncanville, Texas
Amassed 400 total yards (365 passing, 35 rushing) and five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) as Alabama downed South Carolina, 49-18.
The Davey O’Brien Award honors candidates who exemplify Davey O’Brien’s enduring character while exhibiting teamwork, sportsmanship and leadership in both academics and athletics.
Via press release.
Monday has come to mean one thing in Tuscaloosa, and that’s the weekly l cattle call of coaches for about 45 minutes as the two coordinators and Coach DeBoer trot out to the podium for about 13-15 minutes a piece, briefly recap, and if we’re lucky say something glib about ‘Bama’s upcoming opponent.
Sadly, DeBoer is one of the worst interviews in CFB as he rarely says anything that you can sink your teeth into. For the Xs and Os, you want to listen to DC Kane Wommack. While OC Ryan Grubb is the one who’s usually good for the spiciest take. And so it was that way again yesterday. Here are their press conferences, and I’ll follow them up with some links.
DeBoer:
KDB didn’t have a whole lot to say, aside from the injury report, praising his team’s discipline even as South Carolina was imploding, and stressing that the Tide now has to reset, because MSU is a talented team with a lot of weapons — essentially what you or I could have done from the sofa.
But what he did say of substance wasn’t great, because it concerned ‘Bama’s neverending injuries, with four dudes missing along the front seven, and now two men down on the offensive line, including big Jayvin James, where the news seemed least optimistic:
Alabama closed out Saturday’s matchup with South Carolina with Mal Waldrep Jr. filling in for William Sanders at left guard and JUCO transfer Tyrell Miller filling in for Jayvin James at right tackle. DeBoer’s update on junior William Sanders was encouraging, while senior Jayvin James’ status is in more doubt than his offensive line counterpart.
“Will [Sanders], upper-body injury during the game. I would expect that he would be able to play on Saturday. So, we’re working through it here, but I would expect that he’ll be ready to go,” DeBoer told reporters on Monday.
“And it just kind of depends on what the week looks like. And then, Jayvin [James], lower extremity. I would say he’s very much questionable at this time. And so, again, we’ll see how the next 24, 48 hours [go]. I think that will help kind of understand what that looks like at the end of the week. But I would say he’s very questionable at this time.”
One thing that was interesting last Saturday after James went down was that Williams filled in at RT2, rather than Brooks. But, a little digging revealed that Nick is actually LT2. We knew he’d be the sixth man off the bench, but covering the blindside tells you he’s the best on the bench and can play almost every position on the line. That’s stellar development for a guy Texas had given up on.
Really interesting stuff here from KDB re: recruiting. The 2026 class was going to be light on high school players by design, with UA emphasizing immediate portal needs. But the 2027 class is so talented (and Bama is steadily eliminating immediate needs), that UA will be targeting high schoolers this cycle: and that is Morgan’s time to shine:
Alabama’s recruitment of high school prospects recently fell on the backburner for its emphasis on roster retention. The Crimson Tide currently have the 37th-ranked class for 2027, its lowest ranking since 2003.
Athletic director Greg Byrne told Front Office Sports he expects that to change next year.
“The year after, we’re planning on going heavier from a high school recruiting standpoint,” Byrne said. “You have to be flexible.”
It’s still early — with the 2027 class over two months away from its early signing day — but Alabama has a solid foundation to build upon for its 2028 class.
The group includes four-star quarterback Kingston Preyear, four-star edge Tysir Young, four-star offensive lineman Anthony Blalock Jr., three-star cornerback Braylen Gibbs, three-star quarterback Charles Scott Jr. and three-star linebacker Dustin Henry.
“I think there’s great evaluation,” DeBoer said. “I think there’s an understanding of what our team is and what we need from year-to-year, whether that’s the high school level (or) a couple transfers.”
Great article here from Charlie.
Kane Wommack said much the same of MSU superstar QB Kamario Taylor that Coach Lebby would say of the Tide’s own dynamic 19-year-old superstar signal caller: It’s gonna be a long day.
“Kamario Taylor is a fantastic quarterback,” Wommack said of the Mississippi State quarterback. “He may be the best that we have faced in the last three years since I’ve been here.”
It’s Taylor’s ability to “create explosives in the passing game, finding throws in the RPO game, the off-schedule plays” both with his feet but in his ability to extend plays and move the Bulldogs offense downfield.
In four games, Taylor leads college football with 14 touchdown passes, adding 1,192 passing yards and a 69.2% completion rate. He’s had at least three passing touchdowns in each of his four games with two performances with more than 350 passing yards.
“He’s playing about as good as I have seen a guy play, certainly in the last three years,” Wommack reiterated…
Ryan Grubb began by apologizing again to the Alabama fans, and thought his little tongue in cheek jab at boobirds would not raise much dander among Tide fans. Pal, this ain’t the Seahawks or Huskies or Fresno State: It’s Alabama, the entire sport’s main character for a century. It’s a fanbase as prickly as it is spoiled, and they’ll let you know about it too.
But, once he got to talking about the game, I really appreciated him a bit more for his concerted effort to dial up a play for Noah Rogers on his first possession and first play as a member of the Crimson Tide. That gave me a lot more respect for him.
In his first play since joining the Crimson Tide, Alabama got the ball to transfer wide receiver Noah Rogers for a 36-yard gain inside the South Carolina 5-yard line. Rogers was one of the best players for the Tide throughout the spring before suffering a lower-body injury during the spring game.
“Those are the fun moments,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said Monday. “Those are the lucky ones where you use personnel to get Noah in that position. We had pretty high confidence in the coverage structure we’d have in that area of the field, that Noah would have a really good chance to get that football. So we kind of dialed that one up to try to get Noah the ball. They don’t always work out like that, but it did that time and to see him make that play felt really good. I know he was pumped up on the sideline. It was awesome.”
MSU Coach Lebby is naturally concerned about ‘Bama’s weapons, and the Bulldogs plan seems to be the same as every team that has faced ‘Bama so far: try and get pressure on Keelon and make him throw when he’s uncomfortable:
“They are throwing the ball at a really high clip and he’s got great anticipation,” he told the media. “(Keelon Russell’s) been incredibly accurate. They’re taking care of the football. They’ve got a lot of different weapons. They’re good at running back as well. And so you see a guy that is really playing well beyond his years right now. And so he looks very calm. And a guy that looks like he’s in complete command. We’re gonna have to move him off the spot.”
And “we’re gonna have to do a great job tackling,” the head coach continued. “That’s gonna be a huge piece of it. He’s played really well. He’s been incredibly productive. There’s been explosive plays. He’s got great talent around him. And so for us it’s going to be about applying pressure, getting our fans really involved and excited.”
Great on paper, coach. But Russell’s legs are the equalizer there, and that’s assuming you can get past ‘Bama’s stellar pass blocking line…or that Keelon panics…or that he’s not always looking upfield to make a play even when the pocket breaks down…or that you can actually cover all four or five Bammers in the route…or that the early kick and a couple of big plays by the visitors haven’t taken the cowbells out of the equation…or that you can catch them…or that you can tackle them for that matter.
I’d rather be where Alabama is than Mississippi State: “Blitz, tackle and cowbell” isn’t the greatest gameplan IYAM.
Ohio State remains the national odds favorite to win the national title at +470, with the meatgrinder of the SEC relegating Texas and Georgia T-2nd and not far behind at +550. The Tide is still 11th on the board at +2000, as well.
Keep your powder dry on this one: We have a special Giving Away Money on national title odds coming this morning for you! Full list here:
Alabama Crimson Tide (+2000)
If you’re a believer in what Keelon Russell has cooking this season with the Crimson Tide, this is high value entering Week 5. He looks like he’s improving with every start as a sophomore and launched his Heisman campaign over the weekend during Alabama’s dismantling of South Carolina. Alabama’s defense isn’t where we thought it would be, but when you’re scoring points with this much fireworks, there’s no need to be perfect.
And, finally, your moment of levity. I don’t know why this makes me laugh so much, but having sat in Bryant Denny during losses to UCF, NIU and a dozen other stinkers, I feel where he’s coming from (and weirdly the 21-0 Southern Miss game back in 2000 may have made me the angriest). Volume up.
That’s all for now. We’ll be back later with some Giving Away Money national title odds. But for now you have a Gump Dump and the Meltdown to pore over. We’ll see you later. Thanks for dropping by, and take care.
Roll Tide
This is what has to be done moving forward. Utilize the portal to fill immediate needs rather than throw hella coin at unproven talent. There is a time a place for HS talent, but the immediate needs come first.
Obviously, he is good, but will MSU O Line be able to give him enough time. Missour took them to the wire, and I think Bama is better on both sides of the ball.
Russell throughout the season.
Honestly, recruiting rankings have played themselves out.
A few years ago, you had three or four ratings services that held each other accountable (you actually had to try, and you didn’t want the reputation of whiffing or fluffing on prospects.)
Now the HUDL pay-to-play model is going to wreck the expectations, and the dual-pipeline monster of Portal and High Schools are rendering the class rankings as moot. How are up and coming G6 programs supposed to better themselves through recruiting if the best players are leaving them for a better bag anyway? (RIP Bud Elliott’s Blue Chip Ratio)
All I can say is I am pleased with the talent evaluation we are seeing from Bama now.
A face like Shannon Dawson (which sounds like a bullshit romcom name, btw) deserves to at least have a name of a low level mafia fuckup like Bobby Valducci who was arrested for exposing himself to monkeys at the Bronx zoo. Miami, just shut the fuck up until you ACTUALLY do something like the thug-U of old.
Man i haven’t seen Tit’s in forever! Both figuratively and in reality.
Grubby, read the fucking room, you shit ass. We don’t fuck around and still take shit personally LIFETIMES before our births. When you win it all, then you can demand shit like Saban did.
That said, Russell now… I think he is genuinely good, but if the coaching staff that endorsed the born retard Mil-WOE to the bitter end and then expected Simpson to carry the season without a damn running game actually has anything to do with Russell’s burgeoning greatness, it would surprise me. Either way, Starkvuhl is going to be easily his biggest test. We’ll see if they can coach him through the rough spots.
(checks sked) Wait. A ranked matchup and we’re playing them at noon?
I can’t figure out how to delete duplicate post now. Lol. Some site manager.
LOL. Get ‘em!
I remember a game where a certain RB was getting all the Heisman hype. After the game another RB was getting all the hype (well most of it). I hope this game plays out the same way.
1.4nette.
I was at that game. Soaking wet for like 8 hours. Rained on. Peed in empty soda bottles because I didn’t want to leave the stands.
Later ate some pussy in a chick’s shower at 2 in the morning. Woke up sometime in the middle of the night and raided her refrigerator. Hangover for the ages the next few days.
Worth it.
Roast beef.
IIRC correctly it was chicken sandwich