Collins Onyejiaka’s path back to Alabama basketball took another visible step Monday, when the team posted practice video showing the sophomore big man on the floor.
That’s the kind of update Crimson Tide fans have been waiting for. Onyejiaka missed most of his freshman season because of a heart condition and the procedures tied to it, and Alabama has been careful not to rush anything. Coach Nate Oats said in April that the staff was still taking a cautious approach and that Onyejiaka had not yet been cleared.
“Even the first time we had the procedure, it didn’t take right," Oats said in April. "There’s a ramp up and then he’s got to get cleared.
He’s not cleared. We won’t know that until some time this summer.”
The video released by Alabama men’s basketball on X on Monday, July 27, was brief, and Onyejiaka wasn’t shown doing anything flashy. No thunderous dunks.
No highlight-reel blocks. Still, seeing the 6-foot-11 center moving through practice is a meaningful sign as he works his way back.
Alabama also included Onyejiaka in practice footage it published in mid-June.
There still hasn’t been an official update on his status for the upcoming season, and Alabama has not issued a statement on the matter since Oats addressed it in April.
Onyejiaka did appear in two games last season, coming off the bench against North Dakota and St. John’s before being sidelined.
If he is available, he would give Alabama another piece in what already looks like a crowded frontcourt. The Crimson Tide return Onyejiaka, along with forwards London Jemison and Keitenn Bristow, and they’ve also added incoming transfers Brandon Garrison from Kentucky, Jamarion Davis-Fleming from Mississippi State, Cole Cloer from NC State and Drew Fielder from Boise State, plus surprise 7-foot addition TJ St. Louis.
In Other News...
Former Tide Assistant Suddenly Entering Alabama Coaching Talk
Pete Goldings rise at Ole Miss has already turned him into one of the more interesting names in the SEC coaching carousel. After Lane Kiffin left for LSU, Golding was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach and then guided the Rebels all the way to the College Football Playoff semifinals, a run that only added to his profile around the league. For Alabama fans, his name carries a familiar ring too, since he spent five seasons on Nick Sabans staff in Tuscaloosa as defensive coordinator before moving on.
The conversation now drifting around Golding is less about what he has done in Oxford and more about where his path could eventually lead. Alabama appears committed to Kalen DeBoer for now, especially after his team has already reached the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff and he received an offseason extension, but the broader coaching chatter has put Golding back into the frame in a way few would have predicted. It is the kind of speculation that says as much about how quickly the sport shifts as it does about any one coachs future. [Read more 🡒]
Greg Byrne Faces A Massive Alabama Brand Decision After New Benchmark
Ohio States new jersey patch sponsorship with JPMorgan Chase has quickly become the kind of deal that gets noticed far beyond Columbus, and for Alabama it lands as more than just another headline. Greg Byrne has already considered similar sponsorship opportunities for the Crimson Tide, and now he has a fresh industry benchmark to measure against as college athletics keeps moving deeper into the name, image and likeness era.
The question for Alabama is no longer whether this kind of arrangement is possible, but how aggressively the school wants to pursue it and what a deal like that should be worth. Byrne has time to weigh the options, but with kickoff to the regular season a little over a month away, the pressure to decide only grows as the market keeps changing around him. [Read more 🡒]
LSU May Have Found The Breakout Target This Offense Needs
Lotzeir Brooks is the Alabama receiver in this SEC breakout discussion, and the appeal is easy to see. He has already shown enough in his career to suggest a bigger role is coming, and the article frames him as a player who could finally turn that promise into a true feature-season in 2026. For Alabama, the timing matters because the Tide are trying to sort through a receiver group that still has some uncertainty attached to it, which only raises the value of a dependable target who can grow into a larger share of the offense.
Brooks is part of a wider conference conversation about which wideouts are best positioned to take off next season, but his path feels especially relevant in Tuscaloosa. With the offense still working through questions around the room, Alabama could use a receiver who not only produces but also gives the quarterback a steady answer when the coverage tightens. The article stops short of declaring the leap already here, but it leaves Brooks as one of the more interesting names to watch if the Tide want a passing game that looks more settled by the time 2026 arrives. [Read more 🡒]