Happy Friday, everyone. The softball team continues to navigate its brutal schedule with an always difficult trip to Gainesville this weekend, and they managed to take game one of the series last night. Meanwhile, the baseball team is in Baton Rouge having dropped the first of a three game set at LSU.
The Gym Tide finished fourth out of four in their NCAA semifinal pod, which was expected.
Alabama secured a meet score of 196.825, but that wasn’t enough to move forward, as the Crimson Tide placed fourth. Florida finished the meet in third. The winning score was 197.550, delivered by No. 2 Oklahoma. No. 7 Missouri stunned Florida to finish second with a 197.300, a tenth ahead of the Gators (197.200).
“It’s so hard to believe that the 2025 season is now over,” Alabama head coach Ashley Johnston said. “I’m just so proud of this team for everything they’ve fought through. The determination and passion that they showed week after week throughout the season.
“Overall, I think this team showed that they are one of the top teams in the country. They made a statement. I’m so excited about how they’re setting the foundation for next year’s team and years to come beyond that.”
This was a young team that came on strong at the end of the season to make the NCAA Championships. Hopefully they can build on that finish next season.
Kalen DeBoer was asked about a two quarterback system, and his answer was predictable.
“I think it’s a lot easier to just have one out there, be in a rhythm,” DeBoer said. “There’s been times where I’ve started seasons doing that, and we’ve gotten through it. I can think two or three in particular, where you went four or five games, but that’s not really our mindset right now. I think when we get to the fall, we want to be settled in, and I think that helps just all around with leadership. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
Not sure I’ve ever seen a coach truly prefer using two of them. When it’s done, it’s usually for developmental purposes of a future star or to take advantage of one quarterback’s run trait in specific circumstances.
Hey, there’s not much else going on. Why not check out Chase Goodbread’s bag?
Ted from Dothan writes: It’s no surprise that Ty Simpson has the nod at quarterback coming out of spring, but what do we really know about him? The second half of the 2023 USF game is the only time he’s ever really been in the fire. I’m hopeful he’ll be a cool customer in the big games, but I feel good about the receiving corps he’ll have to work with.
Hey Ted: A new starter at quarterback is about an every-other-year reality, and rarely do they gain enough game experience as backups to make anyone feel comfortable. Simpson, with 50 career pass attempts, has been around the program for four years and enters his second under DeBoer. But as you note, his next high-profile start will be his first. Answers will come quickly: He’ll open on the road at FSU and will catch Georgia just four weeks later.
Growing up with a college football coach as a dad has to be advantageous for Ty in terms of mindset.
Having been through a quarterback battle has helped Simpson prepare for this moment.
“I think Ty would be the first one to tell you, in ‘23, when they were going through that, if he made a mistake, he let it magnify,” Jason Simpson said. “If the other quarterbacks made a throw, then it’s kind of like you’re now playing golf, right? I’m trying to out-drive you and hit it even farther.
“And I think that’d probably be the first thing he would tell you, is that he should have just taken it one play at a time, should have just concentrated on what he was doing well instead of just the overall big picture of everything. You can’t control those things or the success or failures that others are having.”
The NCAA rules committee thinks they’ve fixed something again.
In an effort to curtail players faking injuries, a concern that has permeated throughout college football for years, the NCAA announced Thursday that its Playing Rules Oversight Panel has approved changes to the injury timeout rules starting this fall.
Under the new rule approved Wednesday, if medical personnel enter the field to evaluate an injured player after the ball is spotted by the officiating crew for the next play, that player’s team will be charged a timeout. If the team doesn’t have any timeouts remaining, a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty will be assessed.
Last, Jeff Goodman believes that Alabama has a good shot of landing a legitimate star guard from Washington State.
Coward stands 6’7” and averaged over 17 points and seven boards, while shooting 40% on five three point attempts per game and 83% from the stripe. Needless to say, he would be a massive addition but Nate Oats will have to fend off the likes of Kansas, Duke and Florida to bring him to T-town.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
