Happy Friday, everyone. We hope that everyone is safe and warm as Mother Nature takes aim at the southeast.
Not much going on today other than hand-wringing over the Charles Bediako situation. Florida coach Todd Golden probably had the best soundbite.
Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden didn’t mince words when asked about the prospect of playing an Alabama team with Charles Bediako.
“We’re going to beat them anyways,” Golden said on his radio show Thursday night. “If he plays, we’ll beat them anyways.”
The former Alabama center was granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday morning, giving him immediate eligibility to participate in all Alabama men’s basketball activities and games.
Bediako hasn’t played for Alabama since 2023.
The use of “anyways” is so very millennial from the 39-year-old. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, if there is a game.
In football news, Ross Dellenger reports that the playoff is likely to stay at 12 teams, because Tony Pettiti continues to insist on 24.
The only expansion I’d support is to 16, with the elimination of conference championship games.
But I don’t get a vote.
High school recruiting doesn’t get the attention it did just a few years ago, but Alabama is still doing the work.
Kalen DeBoer boarded a helicopter with GM Courtney Morgan and Christian Robinson to see 5-star edge KJ Green at Stephenson High School in Georgia. The 6’5, 225-pound pass rusher has held an Alabama offer for years and remains one of the most coveted defenders in the 2027 class. Robinson is recruiting him for the Wolf position, and the personal visit underscored how serious the Tide remain despite competition tightening.
At the same time, Alabama continues to sit atop the Rivals RPM for 5-star WR Monshun Sales, the No. 8 overall prospect in the 2027 class. In his junior year, he had 37 receptions, 794 yards, and nine TDs. Alabama staffers, including Kalen DeBoer and WRs coach Derrick Nix, were on campus again because this recruitment is about reinforcement.
Ty Simpson’s intangibles drive his draft stock as much as anything else.
As the play clock ticks down, Simpson looks like an NFL quarterback, one who is behind each of his offensive lineman, changing protections, sharing what he sees.
“We give him full rein to get to what he needs to get to,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said of Simpson during the 2025 season. “He has a high football IQ. We don’t ever want him taking a snap that he’s not comfortable with, someone not being on the same page with him.”
With it comes an undoubted assurance of who the leader of the Alabama offense is, one shown both on the field through checks and audibles, but off the field too.
Before he was officially named Alabama’s starting quarterback and a team captain, Simpson was a part of the team’s leadership council heading into the 2025 season, one who consistently holds his teammates accountable.
He probably didn’t get enough credit for those things in Tuscaloosa, and they are the most critical factor at the next level.
Last, Alabama added another wide receiver to the 2026 class.
A 5-foot-10, 166-pound receiver out of Moody High School, Walker reports a 4.39-second 40-yard dash and a 70.1-inch wingspan.
As a senior at Moody, Walker recorded 490 yards receiving and six touchdowns on 29 catches, and finished his career with a state championship.
Walker is one of nine scholarship receivers expected on Alabama’s 2026 roster along with Morgan, Mathis, Ryan Williams, Lotzeir Brooks, Rico Scott, Derek Meadows, MJ Chirgwin and Noah Rogers, who the Crimson Tide added via the transfer portal.
Walker is a burner who will provide depth this season.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
