Alabama and Kentucky may both be SEC originals, but they haven’t crossed paths often in Lexington in recent years. Since Tim Couch’s overtime strike to Craig Yeast in 1997, the Crimson Tide have visited “our Old Kentucky Home” just four times. Still, there are a few roster threads tying the two programs together heading into Saturday.
The most immediate one is Olaus Alinen, who began his college career at Alabama before transferring to Kentucky. The Finnish native came into college with plenty of buzz after emerging as a four-star prospect in the Connecticut prep school scene and turning heads in the Under Armour All-American Game. He spent his first season redshirting under Nick Saban, then struggled to settle in once Kalen DeBoer’s staff moved him between guard and tackle.
Alinen eventually hit the transfer portal and ended up at Kentucky, where he first won the starting right guard job. A freak injury to Malachi Wood in Week 1 pushed Alinen out to tackle, but he’s expected to slide back to right guard against his old team on Saturday. Before the season, he told KSR at Kentucky Football Media Day in early August that the move had been a good one for him.
“The way our team’s come together with the staff, buying into the players, and for me personally, how I feel, I’d say I’ve been happier here and enjoyed playing football more. That’s my experience,” he told KSR at Kentucky Football Media Day in early August.
He also said the chance to line up against former teammates still carries a little extra juice.
“Playing against your old teammates, that’s always a cool experience that happens in college football for a lot of people nowadays, with people moving around a lot. It’s always good to see familiar faces, get a chance to go with them and talk to them after the game.”
Another familiar name is Rico Scott, a wideout Kentucky had its eyes on during the recruitment of Stone Saunders. While Wildcats fans were tracking Saunders, Scott was the teammate drawing attention after putting up 1,353 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns in his senior season. Kentucky brought him in for multiple visits, but the four-star receiver ultimately signed with Alabama.
Scott’s role has grown gradually in Tuscaloosa. He didn’t see much playing time right away, but last fall he started three games and finished with 11 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Last week, he was on the field for 60 snaps, was targeted three times, and came away with two receptions for 21 yards. He also works as Alabama’s kick returner.
There are two more ties on the Tide roster as well. Racin Delgatty, who had been on Kentucky’s offensive line board during the transfer portal shuffle, landed at Alabama after coming over from Cal Poly. He’s now the starting center for the Crimson Tide and posted a 67.4 PFF grade last week while taking one penalty.
Then there’s Khalifa Keith, another player with Kentucky history who ended up in Alabama’s backfield. The Alabama native was once committed to Kentucky in the 2023 recruiting class before flipping to Tennessee as the Wildcats stumbled in 2022.
Keith spent two quiet years in Knoxville, then entered the transfer portal and spent time at Appalachian State, where he had three carries for eight yards. He found his way back to Alabama and got three carries in mop-up work during the Week 1 win over East Carolina.
In Other News...
Kentuckys New Offense Just Unlocked A Weapon Fans Havent Seen Enough
Will Stein wasted little time putting his stamp on Kentuckys offense, and one of the clearest signs came through the tight end room. In the season opener, three tight ends combined for nine catches, 140 yards and two touchdowns, a workload and production level that stood out sharply from what the Wildcats had leaned on in recent years under Mark Stoops. It was the kind of shift that gives an offense a different shape, especially for a team trying to find more answers in the passing game.
The encouraging part for Kentucky is that this did not look like a one-off wrinkle. Players and coaches praised the tight ends performance and pointed to their value as real pieces of the system, which suggests Stein sees them as more than just check-down options or red-zone targets. If that usage holds, it could change the way defenses have to prepare for the Wildcats, and it may only be the beginning of how often these weapons show up. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Just Landed A Huge Big Blue Madness Recruiting Opportunity
Big Blue Madness is still a little ways off, but Kentucky already has one of the nights biggest recruiting storylines in place. The Wildcats are set to open the basketball season on Oct. 2, and five-star power forward CJ Rosser is expected to be there, giving Mark Popes staff a prime chance to put Kentucky in front of one of the elite prospects in the 2027 class.
Rosser, ranked No. 2 nationally by 247Sports, brings the kind of profile Kentucky has long targeted at the frontcourt: a 6-foot-10 forward with versatile skills and plenty of upside. He has visits lined up with several schools, but the chance to see the program in one of its most electric settings gives the Wildcats an important early opportunity to make their case and keep building momentum in a recruitment that figures to stay closely watched. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Heads Into Alabama Opener With Big Availability Questions
The first SEC test of the season is already taking shape as both Kentucky and Alabama sort through a long list of availability concerns heading into their Week 2 matchup. The second report of the week left each side dealing with significant uncertainty, with Alabama carrying several players on the out or doubtful lists and Kentucky also trying to piece together who will be ready for a road opener that suddenly looks a lot more complicated than a standard conference debut.
For Kentucky, the biggest concern is the mix of uncertainty along the offensive line and in the secondary, the kind of personnel questions that can change both protection plans and coverage looks in a hurry. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has already pointed to the Wildcats' offensive front and his familiarity with Will Stein's schemes, which only adds to the intrigue as both teams try to keep their cards close and survive the week with as many healthy bodies as possible. [Read more 🡒]