Happy Friday, everyone. The women fought hard in Lexington last night but came up short by nine.
Despite another strong effort from Sarah Ashlee Barker, No. 22 Alabama women’s basketball dropped its second straight game on Thursday night, this time at No. 12 Kentucky.
The Crimson Tide held a six-point lead after the first quarter, but could never recover after a slow second quarter, eventually losing 65-56. Barker led Alabama with 22 points and seven rebounds in her second game back from injury.
On3 published their final 2025 football recruiting rankings yesterday, and Alabama finished with an elite class.
3. Alabama — 93.578
3 five-stars | 14 four-stars | 4 three-stars | 21 total commits
Top Commit: Duncanville (Texas) Five-Star Plus+ QB Keelon Russell, No. 2 NATL.
One of the most consequential flips of the 2025 cycle came when Alabama took Duncanville (Texas) QB Keelon Russell away from SMU back in early June. Russell, the No. 2 passer in the class, will be protected by an elite group of offensive linemen. A group that consists of Michael Carroll, Jackson Lloyd, Micah DeBose and Mal Waldrep. The Tide won’t be short offensive weapons, either, with the likes of elite RB Akylin Dear and talented pass-catchers Derek Meadows, Kaleb Edwards and Lotzeir Brooks.
The defensive side of the ball is no slouch, either. Dijon Lee is the centerpiece of this 2025 Crimson Tide secondary class alongside Chuck McDonald. Star edge rusher Justin Hill comes to Tuscaloosa via Cincinnati while Ivan Taylor and Darrell Johnson also feature elsewhere on the defense.
The three five-stars are all among the top 16 players in the nation. Interestingly, OT Jackson Lloyd moved up on the list while Ty Haywood lost his fifth star after flipping from Alabama to Michigan.
Besides a stellar high school class, Kalen DeBoer and company added some key talent in the portal. Utah transfer Cam Calhoun should compete in the secondary.
“He had an interception on the sideline, (showing) that he can run, catch up speed, elevate and high point the ball,” Reid said. “Fans got a lot to be excited about.”
In 11 games for the Utes, Calhoun, standing at 6-foot, 177 pounds, had 21 tackles, one tackle-for-loss and one sack. He had nine pass break ups — fourth best in the Big 12 — in less than 400 snaps per Pro Football Focus.
“He’s a silent assassin,” Tafuna said. “But he makes plays. His passion is so great. You watch his film, man… he dropped a couple of them. But this year, he’s going to develop. He’ll catch those…. You watch his film. Frick, bro, it’s crazy to see him do that.
“You’re just playing catch with the quarterback.”
Jalen Milroe recovered from a couple of uneven Senior Bowl practice outings with a good day yesterday, but he remains quite polarizing.
“If you came into the week ‘out’ on Milroe, I think that you could take some positives away, but you probably wouldn’t change your overall status,” said Samuels, a former Jacksonville State offensive lineman. “And if you came into the week big on Milroe with his upside, his potential, then you’re going to leave the week probably a little bit more excited after he appeared to figure it out (Thursday).
“It got better as the week went on. So, I’m very interested to see if he’s going to play in the game, one; and two, what his performance looks like in the actual game. Because I think he has as much to gain or lose as any player right now.”
So in what round might Milroe end up being drafted? Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back who is now a draft analyst for ESPN, said on Wednesday’s Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network that Milroe could go as “high as the second round” or “drop to the fourth round.”
Last, I’m sure you will all be floored by the following comment.
Stephen A. Smith: “Cam, if you could give back that league MVP for a Super Bowl championship, would you do it?”
Cam Newton: “No” pic.twitter.com/b1wVO2i7Nh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 30, 2025
Sounds like a guy who wouldn’t risk injury to recover a fumble in the Super Bowl.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
