Kalen DeBoer’s latest injury update brought a little optimism to an Alabama offense that has been waiting on its top target.
Ryan Coleman-Williams, the Crimson Tide’s No. 1 receiver, has been out since getting hurt in the home loss to Georgia on Oct. 10.
He also missed Alabama’s loss at Tennessee on Oct. 17 and the bounce-back win over Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon. His absence has left a noticeable void in the passing game, and it’s easy to see why: in only six games this season, the junior has hauled in 23 catches for 415 yards and four touchdowns, while averaging 18.0 yards per reception.
That kind of production matters. Coleman-Williams gives Keelon Russell and the Alabama passing attack a true field-stretcher, and the Tide haven’t had that same edge without him.
Still, there’s reason to think the wait may not be much longer. DeBoer said at the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club that Coleman-Williams could be on track for a return after the bye week, with Alabama set to face LSU on Nov. 7.
“I’m hopeful that he’ll be ready for the LSU game,” Kalen DeBoer said. “Ryan, I hope by next week he’ll be able to give us quite a bit.”
Alabama gets a break this week before heading back into its early-November matchup with LSU in Week 10. With the Crimson Tide trying to put together a winning run, attention now turns to what the Kalshi market says about Alabama’s projected season victory total.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Quietly Added An Offensive Voice As LSU Feud Escalates
As LSU's offseason and early-season storylines kept spinning, Lane Kiffin revealed that the Tigers quietly added Nate Carroll as an offensive analyst before the season, a move that had not been publicly disclosed at the time. Carroll, who brings NFL coaching experience and comes from the Pete Carroll coaching tree, has been helping LSU's offensive staff during games, giving the program an extra experienced voice behind the scenes.
The timing adds another layer to a situation already marked by legal friction between LSU and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey over the schools recruiting practices and Kiffins comments. With the public focus elsewhere, the quiet addition of Carroll underscores how much of college football now unfolds away from the spotlight, even as the larger LSU-Sankey dispute continues to simmer. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Holds Firm As AP Poll Chaos Shakes Contenders
Week 8 turned the AP Top 25 into a weekly stress test, and the ripple effects were felt well beyond the top line. With nearly a third of the top ten taking losses, the rankings shifted in a way that opened the door for movement all over the board, including a boost in first-place support for Miami after No. 2 BYU went down. Teams such as Texas and Utah were among the biggest movers, while the fallout also pushed some familiar names, including Iowa and USC, into the vote-getting crowd without a place in the poll itself.
For LSU, the bigger takeaway is the kind of volatility that can reshape the path ahead in a hurry. Poll weeks like this tend to reward teams that keep stacking clean Saturdays and punish anyone living on the edge of the rankings, and the churn around the top 25 only sharpens the pressure on contenders trying to stay in the conversation. It also leaves the picture unsettled enough that every ranking checkpoint now feels like a referendum on who can hold up when the standings start to wobble. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fans Have A Massive Recruiting Decision Closing In
The wait is almost over for one of the more closely watched recruiting battles LSU has been part of this cycle. Four-star small forward Asa Montgomery, a top prospect in the 2027 class, has set his college commitment announcement for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET, and the Tigers are among the schools still in the mix after hosting him on official visits. He is weighing LSU against Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and UConn, a group that reflects just how far his stock has climbed.
Montgomerys rise has made this one worth tracking well beyond the usual early recruiting buzz. Evaluators view him as a versatile wing with real upside at the next level, the kind of player programs can build around if the fit and development plan line up. For LSU, landing a player with that profile would be another sign the staff can win national-level recruiting fights, but for now the only certainty is that a major decision is right around the corner. [Read more 🡒]