Happy Friday, everyone. Tomorrow is some version of what used to be known as A Day, and all eyes will be on the quarterbacks. Kalen DeBoer is clear that he isn’t looking for a JAG in the role.
“I think a lot of it is, we want that playmaker,” DeBoer said. “We want that guy … I don’t want just a game manager out there. If we’re going to win at the level we want to win at, we want a guy who’s going to produce and make the big plays. Obviously there’s a piece too where you can’t make the big mistakes. Especially in critical moments; whether it’s in the red zone, end of games, end of halves, things like that.”
To make sure Alabama has someone capable of getting those things done, several coaches are working with the group, including offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan.
“Nick Sheridan and Ryan Grubb just do an amazing job working together, guiding these guys in the right direction,” DeBoer said.
Super Senior Jah-Marien Latham is getting all kinds of grief about his age.
“Last year I was kind of one of the oldest,”Latham said. “I was still the oldest of the class of 2020. Now, make me feel like an uncle around everybody who’s younger than me. It just motivates me every day to know it’s a lot of young guys looking up to me. They’re watching to see how I live my life and how I go about things. Just being a role model to them.”
Latham said that he’s been getting jokes from all angles about his advanced age. Even from outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson, who has plenty of years on Latham.
However, defensive lineman Tim Keenan, another veteran on the team, said he wasn’t joining in on the jokes.
“Nah, because if he’s ‘Paw Paw,’ I’m ‘Unc,‘” Keenan said. “So that’s how we go. But he’s for sure Paw Paw.”
May Latham make his mark this season.
Jalen Milroe is visiting several team this week.
The conversation around Milroe has picked up recently after it was revealed by The Athletic that the former Alabama signal caller received a personal invitation to the NFL Draft, kicking off some speculation that he could ultimately emerge as a first round selection.
Names like Cam Ward from Miami, or Shedeur Sanders from Colorado, and Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss tend to dominate the NFL Draft big boards when it comes to draft analysts and scouts.
But Milroe is never far behind in those conversations, currently ranked as the consensus No. 4 quarterback in the 2025 draft class, according to an average of the top draft projections.
Eric Williams of Fox NFL thinks that Cleveland is the most likely destination.
Some mocks have the Browns taking QB Shedeur Sanders with the No. 2 overall pick, but they seem to be leaning toward his Colorado teammate, CB/WR Travis Hunter. Kenny Pickett had been the only healthy quarterback on the roster, so Cleveland signed 40-year-old Joe Flacco on Friday for competition and depth. Flacco was NFL Comeback Player of the Year with the Browns in 2023, demonstrating head coach Kevin Stefanski’s knack for getting quarterbacks to perform to their potential. He could do the same for Milroe, who also would reunite with former Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, now the Browns’ OC.
With the sun setting on Deshaun Watson’s time in Cleveland and Myles Garrett re-signing for big money, the Browns need an answer at quarterback to compete in the AFC North, which features superstars Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. Milroe would give the Browns a signal-caller who could at least match up physically with the top QBs in the division.
Nate Oats wonders if he’s been taking the scheduling to an extreme.
“We’ve had the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country for two years in a row now,” Oats told Sirius XM College Sports Radio last week at the Final Four in San Antonio. “We schedule tough non-conference games — obviously that’s part of it. But we still got enough buy games.
“Well, when you get into conference play, and everybody’s as good as they are, there’s no off nights. I think it’s good — that’s why I schedule non-conference — but we may have to evaluate our non-conference schedule based on how tough our conference schedule is now. There’s just not an off night.”
Last, Tennessee is being shaken down by their own QB.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is negotiating a new multimillion-dollar NIL deal just ahead of the transfer portal opening on April 16, according to a report Thursday.
It creates a tense situation for the Vols, who finish spring practice with their Orange and White Game on Saturday (2 p.m. ET) at Neyland Stadium.
On3.com reported that Iamaleava and the NIL collective that pays him on behalf of Tennessee are trying to hammer out a deal this week. He signed a blockbuster NIL contract in 2022, which reportedly paid him more than $2 million per year.
This sucks for college football, but it’s hilarious that it’s happening to Tennessee. Congrats on getting that injunction, Vols.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
