It’s been a busy week in Alabama athletics. In case you missed anything, here’s a look through some of the highlights. Today BamaInsider will dive into the week’s storylines by providing three observations, two questions and one prediction.
THREE OBSERVATIONS
A look at who’s in and who’s out for Alabama football
Last week, Alabama saw four underclassmen declare for the NFL draft as defensive lineman Christian Barmore, quarterback Mac Jones, defensive back Patrick Surtain II and receiver Jaylen Waddle all announced their decision to go pro. This week, four more Tide players elected to move on from the team as offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, linebacker Joshua McMillon and tight ends Miller Forristall and Carl Tucker all passed up on an NCAA waiver that grants an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.
Here’s a list of notable Alabama players who won’t be returning to the team next season.
— Christian Barmore, DL
— Deonte Brown, OL
— Landon Dickerson, OL
— Thomas Fletcher, LS
— Miller Forristall, TE
— Najee Harris, RB
— Mac Jones QB
— Alex Leatherwood, OL
— Joshua McMillon, LB
— Dylan Moses, LB
— DeVonta Smith, WR
— Patrick Surtain II, DB
— Carl Tucker, TE
— Jaylen Waddle, WR
It hasn’t been all bad for Alabama. The Tide did receive some good news as redshirt junior linebacker Christopher Allen, redshirt junior defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis and redshirt senior offensive lineman Chris Owens all announced they are returning for another year.
Allen, Alabama’s starting Sam linebacker, led the SEC with 13 tackles for a loss last season while finishing third on the team with six sacks. Mathis recorded five tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks while making six starts on the defensive line. Owens essentially served as Alabama’s sixth offensive lineman, filling in for Evan Neal at right tackle during the game against Arkansas before replacing an injured Dickerson at center during the Tide’s run in the College Football Playoff.
Several Tide stars headed to Mobile
Alabama’s big three will be headed to Mobile next week. Earlier this week receiver DeVonta Smith, quarterback Mac Jones and running back Najee Harris all accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl. The trio will join four other Tide players at the event as offensive linemen Alex Leatherwood, Landon Dickerson and Deonte Brown as well as long snapper Thomas Fletcher all accepted invitations as well.
Dickerson will miss the game with a knee injury while Smith is also set to miss the game after dislocating his finger during last week’s national championship game. While both players will be held out of activities, they are still set to interview with all 32 NFL teams at the event.
Practices for the Senior Bowl will be held Tuesday through Thursday while the game itself will take place on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 1:30 p.m. CT inside of Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of South Alabama. The full list of accepted invitations for the Senior Bowl can be found here.
Alabama baseball’s schedule announced
Alabama baseball announced its full 56-game schedule earlier this week. The slate of games includes 34 home matchups at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and a full 10-weekend SEC schedule.
The Crimson Tide will open its season with a three-game home series against McNeese State from Feb. 19-21. Alabama will also host two other non-conference weekend series against Wright State (Feb. 26-28) and Stetson (March 12-14) and will travel to College of Charleston for a non-conference weekend series on March 5-7.
Alabama will hold mid-week home-and-home matchups against Jacksonville State, Samford and Troy. It will also host mid-week non-conference games against Alabama State, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Tennessee-Martin and UAB.
The Tide opens SEC play with a road series against Arkansas from March 19-21 before hosting back-to-back series against Ole Miss (March 26-28) and Tennessee (April 2-4). From there Alabama travels to Texas A&M (April 9-11) before hosting Auburn (April 16-18). The Tide travels to Kentucky (April 23-25) and wraps up the month of April by hosting Missouri (April 30 to May 2).
Alabama concludes conference play with a challenging month of May which features back-to-back trips to Vanderbilt (May 7-9) and LSU (May 14-16) followed by a home series against Mississippi State (May 20-22).
The SEC Tournament will be held in Hoover, Ala. and will run from May 25-30.
TWO QUESTIONS
How will Alabama fill out the rest of its football staff?
Alabama officially announced the hiring of Bill O’Brien as its new offensive coordinator on Thursday. All indications suggest it will soon announce Doug Marrone as its next offensive line coach in the near future. However, even after the two former head coaches get to work in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Tide’s coaching carousel will still be turning.
This offseason, Alabama saw offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian leave to become the head coach at Texas. The Broyles Award winner took two Tide assistants with him in offensive line coach Kyle Flood and special teams/tight ends coach Jeff Banks. Flood will take on offensive coordinator duties while coaching the offensive line at Texas. Banks will continue to coach special teams and tight ends for the Longhorns but will add the title of assistant head coach and receive a sizeable pay raise. Meanwhile, Alabama will also need to replace its running backs coach as Charles Huff left to become the head coach at Marshall.
Alabama has already replaced Sarkisian with O’Brien and is set to add Marrone to fill Flood’s old role. As for who will replace Banks and Huff, there are a few names to consider as top candidates.
When it comes to filling Huff’s role, the two most popular successors appear to be Notre Dame running backs coach/run-game coordinator Lance Taylor and Kentucky running backs coach Eddie Gran.
As for filling Banks’ position, Alabama is rumored to be interested in bringing in yet another former head coach in Kevin Sumlin. The former head coach at Arizona, Texas A&M and Houston met with Saban in Miami before the Tide’s national championship game last week.
Will Alabama basketball suffer its annual February slump?
Earlier this week, we asked if Alabama could win titles in both football and basketball this year. That question was met with some chagrin by Tide fans fearing their team’s annual February slump.
February hasn’t been kind to Alabama in recent years. Last season, the Tide went 4-5 in the month, failing to record consecutive wins while watching its once-promising season unravel. Alabama also experienced a forgettable February in 2019 when it went 4-4, dropping three straight games in the middle of the month. The Tide posted 3-5 records in February of 2018 and 2017. Alabama’s last winning February came in 2016 when it went 6-2.
So how will Alabama fare this February? Here’s a look at what the Tide will be up against
Feb. 3 — LSU
Feb. 6 — at Missouri
Feb. 9 — at South Carolina
Feb. 13 — Georgia
Feb. 17 — at Texas A&M
Feb. 20 — Vanderbilt
Feb. 24 — at Arkansas
Feb. 27 — at Mississippi State
The first two games will likely be the toughest, especially the trip to Missouri. Although from there, Alabama should not have too much trouble.
PREDICTION
Alabama basketball will make it to at least 10-0 in SEC play
Alabama basketball hasn’t netted 10 SEC wins in a season since 2017. This year, the Tide could reach double-digit conference victories by early next month.
Alabama is a 13.5-point favorite in Saturday’s home matchup against Mississippi State. From there, its next two SEC games will also be held inside Coleman Coliseum as it takes on Kentucky on Tuesday before hosting LSU on Feb. 3. Alabama beat the Wildcats by 20 points in Lexington, Ky. earlier this month and is coming off a 30-point victory over LSU earlier this week. Both rematches figure to be a bit more difficult, but with the Tide rolling at full force, a 10-0 start to SEC play seems highly possible.
THREE OBSERVATIONS
A look at who’s in and who’s out for Alabama football
Last week, Alabama saw four underclassmen declare for the NFL draft as defensive lineman Christian Barmore, quarterback Mac Jones, defensive back Patrick Surtain II and receiver Jaylen Waddle all announced their decision to go pro. This week, four more Tide players elected to move on from the team as offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, linebacker Joshua McMillon and tight ends Miller Forristall and Carl Tucker all passed up on an NCAA waiver that grants an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.
Here’s a list of notable Alabama players who won’t be returning to the team next season.
— Christian Barmore, DL
— Deonte Brown, OL
— Landon Dickerson, OL
— Thomas Fletcher, LS
— Miller Forristall, TE
— Najee Harris, RB
— Mac Jones QB
— Alex Leatherwood, OL
— Joshua McMillon, LB
— Dylan Moses, LB
— DeVonta Smith, WR
— Patrick Surtain II, DB
— Carl Tucker, TE
— Jaylen Waddle, WR
It hasn’t been all bad for Alabama. The Tide did receive some good news as redshirt junior linebacker Christopher Allen, redshirt junior defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis and redshirt senior offensive lineman Chris Owens all announced they are returning for another year.
Allen, Alabama’s starting Sam linebacker, led the SEC with 13 tackles for a loss last season while finishing third on the team with six sacks. Mathis recorded five tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks while making six starts on the defensive line. Owens essentially served as Alabama’s sixth offensive lineman, filling in for Evan Neal at right tackle during the game against Arkansas before replacing an injured Dickerson at center during the Tide’s run in the College Football Playoff.
Several Tide stars headed to Mobile
Alabama’s big three will be headed to Mobile next week. Earlier this week receiver DeVonta Smith, quarterback Mac Jones and running back Najee Harris all accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl. The trio will join four other Tide players at the event as offensive linemen Alex Leatherwood, Landon Dickerson and Deonte Brown as well as long snapper Thomas Fletcher all accepted invitations as well.
Dickerson will miss the game with a knee injury while Smith is also set to miss the game after dislocating his finger during last week’s national championship game. While both players will be held out of activities, they are still set to interview with all 32 NFL teams at the event.
Practices for the Senior Bowl will be held Tuesday through Thursday while the game itself will take place on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 1:30 p.m. CT inside of Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of South Alabama. The full list of accepted invitations for the Senior Bowl can be found here.
Alabama baseball’s schedule announced
Alabama baseball announced its full 56-game schedule earlier this week. The slate of games includes 34 home matchups at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and a full 10-weekend SEC schedule.
The Crimson Tide will open its season with a three-game home series against McNeese State from Feb. 19-21. Alabama will also host two other non-conference weekend series against Wright State (Feb. 26-28) and Stetson (March 12-14) and will travel to College of Charleston for a non-conference weekend series on March 5-7.
Alabama will hold mid-week home-and-home matchups against Jacksonville State, Samford and Troy. It will also host mid-week non-conference games against Alabama State, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Tennessee-Martin and UAB.
The Tide opens SEC play with a road series against Arkansas from March 19-21 before hosting back-to-back series against Ole Miss (March 26-28) and Tennessee (April 2-4). From there Alabama travels to Texas A&M (April 9-11) before hosting Auburn (April 16-18). The Tide travels to Kentucky (April 23-25) and wraps up the month of April by hosting Missouri (April 30 to May 2).
Alabama concludes conference play with a challenging month of May which features back-to-back trips to Vanderbilt (May 7-9) and LSU (May 14-16) followed by a home series against Mississippi State (May 20-22).
The SEC Tournament will be held in Hoover, Ala. and will run from May 25-30.
TWO QUESTIONS
How will Alabama fill out the rest of its football staff?
Alabama officially announced the hiring of Bill O’Brien as its new offensive coordinator on Thursday. All indications suggest it will soon announce Doug Marrone as its next offensive line coach in the near future. However, even after the two former head coaches get to work in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Tide’s coaching carousel will still be turning.
This offseason, Alabama saw offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian leave to become the head coach at Texas. The Broyles Award winner took two Tide assistants with him in offensive line coach Kyle Flood and special teams/tight ends coach Jeff Banks. Flood will take on offensive coordinator duties while coaching the offensive line at Texas. Banks will continue to coach special teams and tight ends for the Longhorns but will add the title of assistant head coach and receive a sizeable pay raise. Meanwhile, Alabama will also need to replace its running backs coach as Charles Huff left to become the head coach at Marshall.
Alabama has already replaced Sarkisian with O’Brien and is set to add Marrone to fill Flood’s old role. As for who will replace Banks and Huff, there are a few names to consider as top candidates.
When it comes to filling Huff’s role, the two most popular successors appear to be Notre Dame running backs coach/run-game coordinator Lance Taylor and Kentucky running backs coach Eddie Gran.
As for filling Banks’ position, Alabama is rumored to be interested in bringing in yet another former head coach in Kevin Sumlin. The former head coach at Arizona, Texas A&M and Houston met with Saban in Miami before the Tide’s national championship game last week.
Will Alabama basketball suffer its annual February slump?
Earlier this week, we asked if Alabama could win titles in both football and basketball this year. That question was met with some chagrin by Tide fans fearing their team’s annual February slump.
February hasn’t been kind to Alabama in recent years. Last season, the Tide went 4-5 in the month, failing to record consecutive wins while watching its once-promising season unravel. Alabama also experienced a forgettable February in 2019 when it went 4-4, dropping three straight games in the middle of the month. The Tide posted 3-5 records in February of 2018 and 2017. Alabama’s last winning February came in 2016 when it went 6-2.
So how will Alabama fare this February? Here’s a look at what the Tide will be up against
Feb. 3 — LSU
Feb. 6 — at Missouri
Feb. 9 — at South Carolina
Feb. 13 — Georgia
Feb. 17 — at Texas A&M
Feb. 20 — Vanderbilt
Feb. 24 — at Arkansas
Feb. 27 — at Mississippi State
The first two games will likely be the toughest, especially the trip to Missouri. Although from there, Alabama should not have too much trouble.
PREDICTION
Alabama basketball will make it to at least 10-0 in SEC play
Alabama basketball hasn’t netted 10 SEC wins in a season since 2017. This year, the Tide could reach double-digit conference victories by early next month.
Alabama is a 13.5-point favorite in Saturday’s home matchup against Mississippi State. From there, its next two SEC games will also be held inside Coleman Coliseum as it takes on Kentucky on Tuesday before hosting LSU on Feb. 3. Alabama beat the Wildcats by 20 points in Lexington, Ky. earlier this month and is coming off a 30-point victory over LSU earlier this week. Both rematches figure to be a bit more difficult, but with the Tide rolling at full force, a 10-0 start to SEC play seems highly possible.
