Alabama heads to Knoxville this weekend carrying more than just the sting of last week’s loss to Georgia. The Crimson Tide could also be heading into a critical SEC road test with several key pieces in question, and the first official availability report should bring more clarity this evening.
The biggest concern is at wide receiver, where Kalen DeBoer already said Monday it would be unlikely for Ryan Coleman-Williams to play. He’s expected to be out, leaving Alabama to lean on Noah Rogers, Derek Meadows and Cederian Morgan.
There are also questions along both lines of scrimmage. Center Racin Delgatty left on Alabama’s last offensive snap against Georgia because of a lower extremity issue, and his status remains unknown. If he can’t go, sophomore Mal Waldrep is expected to step in.
Defensive tackle Terrance Green is in the same boat. He exited late in the first half against Georgia and never returned, and Alabama’s run defense looked different with him on the field than it did without him.
So for a team that needs this game, the margin for error is already thin. If those three starters can’t suit up, the Tide will be forced to navigate one of the season’s toughest road trips without them.
There could also be movement in the secondary after Dijon Lee’s rough night against Georgia. Alabama has kept giving the sophomore corner chances because the talent is obvious, but last week brought together the full package of problems: coverage struggles and a costly mental mistake late in the game that wiped out Alabama’s chance to get the ball back.
That sequence drew a public reprimand from DeBoer and appears to have Kane Wommack thinking about changing the mix at corner. Wommack didn’t hide the standards he’s measuring Lee against.
"The things that I need to do to get him to execute at a higher level than what he’s doing, from an execution standpoint, that’s one facet. And then the other facet is being held accountable for the penalty there at the end of the game.
There will be some things that we will do this week, and some things that moving forward - my job as a coordinator is based on the production that you put on the field, the role that you have moving forward. From a rep-based standpoint, that will be reflected in what guys have done to this point.”
On the basketball side, Alabama got a preseason nod that has historically lined up well for Nate Oats’ program. The Crimson Tide were picked to finish fifth in the SEC preseason poll, and that has been a favorable number for Oats before.
In the two seasons when Alabama won both the SEC regular-season and tournament titles under him - 2020-21 and 2022-23 - the Tide were also projected to finish fifth in the league before the year began.
Amari Allen was the lone Alabama player selected to the All-SEC preseason teams, landing on the second team.
Oats, along with Allen, Brandon Garrison and Drew Fielder, was in Homewood on Tuesday for SEC Tip-Off. Oats talked about how Alabama built its roster and said the program intentionally wanted more size this offseason after getting pushed around on the interior at times a year ago.
He also spoke about Aden Holloway’s return path. Holloway, who was arrested in March, has had his charges dropped and has worked his way back into the program. He’ll miss Alabama’s next two exhibition games and the first two regular-season games before returning.
Garrison also addressed his move to Alabama, saying former Tide forward Mo Dioubate helped persuade him to end up in Tuscaloosa.
In Other News...
SEC Response To Alabamas Georgia Frustration Wont Ease Many Fans
The aftermath of Alabamas game with Georgia has turned less on the final outcome than on the officiating decisions that left plenty of Crimson Tide fans frustrated. Several calls were disputed during the game, including a no-call on a potential pass interference, and the conversation spilled into the public view as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addressed how the league handles those kinds of controversies.
Sankey said the conference does not comment on judgment calls made by officials, while also stressing that officiating is difficult and that the SEC will review errors involving rule application. For Alabama fans still looking for clarity, though, that distinction is unlikely to calm much of the noise around a game that already had enough contentious moments to linger well beyond the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
National Analyst Reignites Georgia Alabama Officiating Debate After Bulldogs Win
Joel Klatt has stirred the pot again in the aftermath of Georgias win over Alabama, using his podcast to revisit the kind of officiating debate that tends to linger long after the final whistle. The national analyst pointed to a non-called pass interference in the fourth quarter as the clearest example of what he felt went Georgias way, framing it as a moment that may have helped shape how the game played out.
For Alabama fans, the frustration is obvious because the loss already carried plenty of weight in a marquee matchup. Klatt did not go so far as to suggest the Crimson Tide were out of the national picture, though, making clear he still views Alabama as a legitimate College Football Playoff championship contender despite the controversy that followed the game. [Read more 🡒]
Nate Oats Signals Progress As Alabama Waits On Aden Holloway
Aden Holloways return to Alabama basketball is still on hold, but the situation around his suspension has moved in a more encouraging direction. Holloway is serving a five-game absence tied to a spring arrest on marijuana charges, a stretch that includes three exhibition games and two regular-season games, even though those charges were dismissed after he completed the Second Chance Program. He has already been reinstated to the roster, which at least gives Alabama a clearer path forward as it waits for the final green light.
Nate Oats and athletics director Greg Byrne have both spoken publicly about Holloways progress, a sign the program is tracking the situation closely rather than treating it as a distant off-field issue. For Alabama, the delay matters because Holloway is not just back in the system, he is still not allowed to play, leaving the Tide to manage the early schedule without him while the last step in the process plays out. [Read more 🡒]