Rico Scott and Amari Allen are the names that rose to the top in a week where Alabama got meaningful performances in both football and basketball.
The Crimson Tide’s 87-85 exhibition win over Auburn set the tone, and Alabama football’s 31-20 victory over Texas A&M filled out the rest of the picture. Between the two, there was enough production to make this week’s Crimson Tide Athletes of the Week conversation an easy one compared with last week’s.
Allen delivered the kind of second-half burst Alabama was looking for. The sophomore scored 18 points after halftime in Thursday’s exhibition, going 5-for-7 from the field and 7-for-9 at the line in the final 20 minutes.
He also finished off an and-one with 69 seconds left, and those were the game-winning points. Allen, who was a regular “Freshman of the Week” winner last winter, came back to Alabama with the goal of showing he could be an NBA guard, and the first real evidence arrived in that game against Auburn.
Scott put together his breakthrough moment against Texas A&M. He caught six passes for a career-high 156 yards, giving Alabama the receiver it needed with Ryan Coleman-Williams out injured. It was the first time Scott had ever gone over 60 receiving yards in a game, and he did it in style in a performance that marked his official coming-out party.
There was also no shortage of strong individual work elsewhere.
Samuels was a force in the exhibition despite an off shooting night, finishing 6-for-19 from the field and 3-for-13 from deep. Those numbers were the most attempts and misses on the team by a wide margin, but he still posted the best plus-minus on the roster at plus-17 and logged 27 minutes, the third-most on the team. Even without the shot falling, he still shaped the game.
Williams helped power the Lions in their 20-17 win over Green Bay, putting up five catches for 91 yards and scoring two touchdowns for the second straight game. After opening the season with fewer than 50 yards in each of his first three outings, he has averaged exactly 80 yards over his last three, and the Lions’ offense continues to run hot with Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and this guy.
Gibbs also kept rolling, going for 116 rushing yards and adding 27 more on five catches. He has been in the mix for this award nearly every week he has played, winning it three times already this season, and this time the nod went to a teammate.
In Other News...
Former Alabama Assistant Just Addressed Those Power Four Rumors
Charles Huff has been a familiar name in coaching circles for a while, and his current success at Memphis has naturally put him on the radar as Power Four openings start to circulate. The former Alabama assistant spent time at Marshall and Southern Miss before landing the Tigers job, and his name has recently been floated in connection with Baylor, Maryland and NC State as those programs sort through their next steps.
Huff addressed the chatter in a press conference and made it clear he has not been contacted about any of those vacancies. He also pointed out what usually happens in coaching search season, noting that movement tends to come after the year is over, which keeps the focus on the stretch run for now even as the rumor mill keeps turning. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Playoff Push Now Rests On These Overlooked Difference-Makers
With Alabama heading into a critical matchup against LSU, the stakes around the final month of the regular season are suddenly hard to miss. The Crimson Tides College Football Playoff hopes could be shaped as much by the players who have been easiest to overlook as by the stars everyone already knows, and that has put a fresh spotlight on the supporting cast around the roster.
Among the names drawing attention are the cornerbacks lined up opposite Zabien Brown, pass rusher Yhonzae Pierre, running back Daniel Hill, offensive lineman Racin Delgatty and quarterback Keelon Russell. Their production, roles and health will matter in different ways as Alabama tries to keep its season on track, and the margin for error only gets smaller from here. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads Into LSU Week With One Encouraging Trend Under DeBoer
After eight straight games, Alabama finally gets a bye week to catch its breath, and the timing could not be much better with injuries piling up and a big LSU showdown looming on the other side. Team captain Ryan Coleman-Williams is trending toward playing in the next game, which gives the Tide at least a little optimism as Kalen DeBoer and his staff try to get a battered roster closer to full strength.
The encouraging part for Alabama is what has happened coming out of bye weeks under DeBoer. The Tide have won all four of those games and done so by comfortable margins, a useful trend to lean on as they head into a matchup that should carry real College Football Playoff weight. LSU, coached by Lane Kiffin, will bring plenty of attention and pressure with it, and Alabama's ability to reset this week could matter as much as anything else in what comes next. [Read more 🡒]