Happy Thursday, everyone. Kalen DeBoer spoke with Greg McElroy this week, and as you’d expect the QB competition came up.
The Alabama quarterback competition is a three-headed race, but DeBoer isn’t going to wait until the last second if he can help it. He went so far as to set a date range for when Crimson Tide fans and the Seminoles will know who will be under center first.
“There’s been roughly a similar kind of timeframe throughout fall camp. The last week-and-a-half,” DeBoer said on the Always College Football with ESPN’s Greg McElroy. “We usually have a little bit longer phase of bonus practices leading up to Week 1. There’s a weekend before and a few days before that. That’s kind of when you really for sure like to have the starter named and him to be able to start really being in sync with his receiving corps, gelling that way and really piling on the reps. But if you feel like you’re at that point earlier, maybe a week earlier.”
This timeframe would land around the middle of August, seeing as Florida State takes Alabama on Aug. 30.
This differs a bit from Nick Saban, who on multiple occasions used the first couple of games to finalize the position. It will be quite a surprise if Keelon Russell is able to supplant Ty Simpson in that kind of time frame.
Nick Kelly expects big things from Isaiah Horton.
1. Isaiah Horton, receiver
All indications out of Tuscaloosa are that Horton is the real deal. He’s expected to combine forces with Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard to give the Crimson Tide a dynamic trio at receiver. Horton, specifically, gives the Crimson Tide a tall, athletic receiver it didn’t have at 6-4. As of where things stand right now, he’s the best addition for the offense heading into the 2025 season.
Brad Crawford of CBS is bullish on Alabama to handle its business in Tallahassee.
Alabama (-11.5) at Florida State
Three straight underdog picks? Not so fast. Alabama has covered in 10 straight season openers, including a 17-point win over the Seminoles to begin the 2017 campaign as a touchdown favorite. Florida State is primed to rebound from last fall’s 2-10 demise with the hire of Gus Malzahn to overhaul the offense and a plethora of portal additions. That rebound does not begin here, however. The Crimson Tide, namely second-year coach Kalen DeBoer, have a statement to make in their 2025 debut.
In a sign of the times, Keelon Russell was able to get Momma a new whip before he’s ever played a snap.
Kalen DeBoer and Rob Vaughn are pursuing a dual-sport star out of Ohio.
Ponatoski, the incoming senior quarterback at Archbishop Moeller High School, is also a renowned baseball recruit, one who committed to Missouri as an eighth grader, who is the No. 16 high school baseball prospect nationally per Baseball America and one who plans to play both football and baseball for as long as he can.
And if the uncommitted four-star quarterback were to choose Alabama, Ponatoski said, Grubb said that plan would become a reality.
“(Grubb) was like, ‘You can come here and play both at Alabama,’” Ponatoski said, securing a Crimson Tide offer after Alabama quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan watched him throw in-person.
Last, Creg Stephenson caught up with “Biscuit.”
“I tell the story all the time, the one thing that sticks out the most about Derrick is Derrick’s tardiness,” Bennett said. “Derrick had to do a lot of extra running when we were in school together. Coach (Sylvester) Croom would make Derrick do extras because Derrick was constantly tardy.
“But that didn’t take away anything from the football field. … You just dealt with it. Because what he gave you on the football field was everything he had.”
Thomas, who died in 2000 after being paralyzed in an automobile accident, went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. Both Thomas and Bennett are both members of the College Football Hall of Fame, but Bennett has not yet been honored despite a sterling NFL career.
In 14 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts, Bennett was a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro. He played in five Super Bowls and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 1990s.
Put that man in the Hall.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
