First up, we have our coach press conferences kicking off South Carolina Week.
Ryan Grubb
Ryan Grubb’s Opening Statement
“I’ll start with one thing. I just wanted to say. I never do this. I’m going to channel
my inner Kane Wommack here quick. I just wanted to thank the fans. I’ve coached in the NFL, top-five games, a national championship. And that’s the most electric atmosphere I have ever seen. Roll Tide.”
Dixieland Delight was so cool we even made Grubb give an opening statement. Thanks, coach!
Overall, Grubb kept this one short. The beat reporters asked him about guys like Daniel Hill, Jaeden Roberts, and Michael Carroll, and he kept things pretty mum, but saying “we’re in a production-based business” meshes well with Wommack’s phrase of “you answer for what you put on tape.” This is an entire team built on the concept of every starting job being up for competition, and it’s cool to see that on the field.
Kane Wommack
“One of the most effective areas of pass rush is physicality. Everybody thinks it’s a finesse game. You go watch the NFL right now, the vast majority of the sacks come from speed to power. They’re not running around people. They’re running through people. And our ability to do that, that’s something we’ve really worked at. Not running around people and giving up vertical lanes in the passing game. But working a speed to power, crush-style rush. Condensing the pocket and then falling back in, countering back inside on the quarterback.
I always like when Kane gives a tidbit about why he’s coaching things the way he does, and he often points to NFL trends. Pure speed rushes will often give up a scramble lane for QBs (something Nick Saban lamented about for years), and Kane here is emphasizing a desire to collapse a pocket, rather than try to beat a tackle with speed.
Kalen DeBoer
DeBoer on James Smith…
“I really, if you think big picture from a year ago to now, I love the energy. It just, there’s a personality, there’s a connection that I feel with him, and I feel like our relationship is really good. There’s been moments, and he had one where he hit the quarterback late. And I know how much he cares, I see it. As soon as he could, he was back there talking to me, owning up to it, and knowing he messed up. And so it’s just a matter of learning from that. And I feel when people do care, like he does, they’ll be better because of it. So, it doesn’t mean you don’t have consequences that come along with the penalties, in that particular case, like we have in our program. And so he owns up to that, takes care of those consequences, and we move on.”
James Smith has been an interesting case this season. He’s been the culprit on a couple of bad hits to QBs (and one targeting suspension on what I believe wasn’t a bad hit), and he’s also had some issues with getting too aggressive and leaving gaps open. On the other hand, he seems to add a certain edge and energy to the team and occasionally flashes with elite rush skills for a 300-plus pound defensive tackle.
Here’s what ESPN’s Bill Connelly had to say about Alabama after his SP+ update this week.
But the Tide once again got the two things they have come to rely on: red zone stops from the defense and just the right plays from Ty Simpson.
In Bama’s current run of four straight wins over ranked foes, opposing teams have scored touchdowns on just seven of 14 red zone trips, with three turnovers, a turnover on downs and only one field goal among the seven failures. The Tide are just 58th in yards allowed per play and 66th in success rate allowed, but they’re 22nd in scoring defense. That’s a tenuous balance, and we’ll see what happens against Oklahoma or anyone they might face in the SEC championship game or CFP, but it’s working well for now.
It works even better since they know they’ll get what they need from Simpson. That Week 1 defeat at Florida State grows more baffling by the week, but since then Simpson ranks seventh in Total QBR with a 74% completion rate, a 16-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio and a 52% success rate on third and fourth down (national average on those downs: 40%). He’s also the only guy this season who has outdueled Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. Simpson has earned our trust, although I’m still willing to cast a suspicious glance toward the defense.
I generally agree with Bill here. While the season is far from over, at this point I think we’ve seen enough consistency from Ty Simpson to know that we can trust him the rest of the way. The Tide’s lack of a run game and porous run-defense are still concerning, but they have the QB right, and that’s always the #1 thing in football.
The big news yesterday was that Alabama secured the commitment of 2027 in-state QB, Trent Seaborn.
In Seaborn, the Crimson Tide have the commitment of a uniquely experienced high school quarterback and one of the most productive passers in the 2027 class. A junior at Alabama’s Thompson High School, Seaborn became the program’s varsity starter as an eighth-grader in the 2022 season, eventually leading the Warriors to a 7A state title that fall. Seaborn powered Thompson to another state championship as a sophomore in 2024 and has already eclipsed 8,000 yards passing for his varsity career.
Sources tell ESPN that Alabama again is expected to pursue multiple quarterbacks in the 2027 cycle, seeking to add another passer alongside Seaborn in the program’s 2027 class over the next year.
Among the Crimson Tide’s other priority targets at the position is top-ranked quarterback Elijah Haven out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ESPN’s No. 14 overall prospect in the ESPN Junior 300, Haven visited the Crimson Tide over the weekend and is expected to return again later this fall.
Seaborn has been the starting QB for the top high school in the state, Thompson, since he was in 8th grade. Imagine, an 8th grader captaining a team of high school juniors and seniors to a 7A state Championship. By the time he gets to Alabama, he’ll have 6 years of starting experience under his belt. DeBoer just keeps stacking QBs for the future.
If you missed it on Monday Night Football last night, Jahmyr Gibbs went absolutely nuclear on one of the fastest 78 yard touchdowns you’ll ever see. Next Gen Stats said he hit 22.23 mph, the 3rd fastest speed of any ball carrier this entire season.
Finally, here’s the SEC Shorts for the week
Roll Tide!
