Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer sees growth in QB Austin Mack
· Yahoo Sports
Happy Monday, everyone. The Gym Tide fell in a close one to 6th-ranked Georgia on Friday night but posted a solid 197.425 score. Softball took two of three from Arkansas, and baseball was swept at 21st-ranked Kentucky. That result doesn’t bode well for Rob Vaughn’s squad in a typically loaded SEC that boasts 11 ranked squads including six of the top 10.
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Women’s basketball scored a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament.
It is the fifth time in the last six seasons that Kristy Curry’s Crimson Tide squad as heard their name called on Selection Sunday. The No. 6 seeded Crimson Tide will head out to Louisville, Kentucky for a first round matchup against No. 11 Rhode Island (28-4) on Saturday, March 21.
Alabama is in the regional hosted by Louisville. Vermont will face the host Cardinals in the first round.
Cards beat writer Alexis Cubit is quite confident, opining that Louisville “will have no problem making it out of the first weekend.” Should Alabama beat Rhode Island, perhaps that will provide the ladies with some additional motivation.
The men’s squad is headed to Tampa, where Hofstra awaits.
Alabama basketball didn’t get dropped to a No. 5 seed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, which was certainly possible after a poor SEC tourney showing. Nor did UA get shipped to Portland, which wouldn’t have been ideal from a travel standpoint.
Instead, the Crimson Tide will zip down to sunny Tampa as a No. 4 seed to take on Hofstra in the first round on Friday, with a potential Sunday matchup against the winner of Texas Tech and Akron. The fifth-seeded Red Raiders, by the way, have lost one of the elite players in the country to injury in JT Toppin, an All-American forward who would’ve given UA’s frontcourt fits in a second-round game.
Hofstra is going to try and slow the pace to a crawl. It will certainly be an interesting matchup if nothing else.
In football news, Heather Dinich managed to squeeze a bit of info out of Kalen DeBoer about the quarterback race.
DeBoer said continuity on the roster and staff is the key, and he feels like for the most part, the Tide have that this season. DeBoer said he didn’t go into the transfer portal for a starting quarterback because, much like a year ago with Ty Simpson, he’s confident in what he has returning, this time with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell.
Mack, who transferred with DeBoer when he was hired, is entering his fourth season in the system, and Russell has “a high ceiling.” Neither has starting experience, but DeBoer said he thought Mack looked “like he belonged out there” in the Rose Bowl against Indiana. Mack completed 11 of 16 attempts for 103 yards after Simpson was injured.
“He runs well, especially when he gets moving, and he can cover a lot of ground in a hurry,” DeBoer said. “From an arm strength and arm talent standpoint, he can make all the throws. I mean, he can rip it from one hash to the opposite sideline. He can throw it down the field. He’s really improved just his timing and anticipation. A lot of that is he knows the offense. Now it’s just a matter of playing ball.”
Mack certainly has an edge in practice time within the system.
DeBoer is going to have to trim some fat off the roster.
With the court-approved House settlement that gives collegiate athletes a piece of revenue sharing, the Crimson Tide and other major college football programs no longer have to adhere to the 85-scholarship limit, but instead face a roster cap of 105 players.
As of the start of spring football, Alabama has 115 players listed on its roster. This does not count the seven players, at least, who are planned to enroll with the Crimson Tide for its summer session, like four-star defensive lineman Nolan Wilson and three-star defensive end Malique’ Franklin.
As noted above, Alabama will have to cut 17 names off of the current list by July 1. It’s fairly easy to go down the roster and find those candidates. In short, Alabama will be carrying more blue chippers than ever but there won’t be much space for the try-hards who were traditionally used to fill out the scout team.
Last, Nick Kelly believes that former Longhorn Nick Brooks is a strong candidate to start on the OL this season.
Michigan transfer Ty Haywood is another intriguing option for this spot if Alabama moves Carroll to guard, but for now, we’ll go with Brooks.
He logged 221 snaps this past season for Texas, most of which he spent at guard. But he also saw 25 snaps at right tackle during the Sam Houston game. He’s got the size for tackle at 6-feet-7, 339 pounds.
Brooks should have a chance to help the offense this season, no matter the role.
I’d imagine that Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James, with 21 SEC starts under his belt, would be first in line if Carroll moves inside.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.