Alabama News

Linebacker was a major position of need for Auburn in this offseason and the Tigers weren’t shy in addressing that need.

Hugh Freeze and the staff signed three freshmen and two Power Four transfers, those being Maryland transfer Caleb Wheatland and former LSU Tiger Xavier Atkins. The latter of the two transferred during the winter window, meaning he participated in spring practice.

Atkins came to Auburn after spending just one season in Baton Rouge, a year in which he saw limited playing time, but still managed to impress his older teammates.

“Oh, he’s an animal,” LSU linebacker Whit Weeks said of Atkins at SEC Media Days. “He plays with his hair on fire.”

Weeks, who earned All-SEC First Team honors in 2024, was one of the talented, experienced players that Atkins had a chance to learn from as a true freshman.

At 6-feet, 201 pounds, Atkins is known primarily for his speed and athleticism, something veteran Auburn linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. pointed out in the spring.

“We’ve got a sophomore coming in from LSU. I really like him,” Woodyard said. “He’s a speedster.”

However, the trait Weeks praised Atkins for was an intangible one.

“That dude’s a workhorse, for sure,” Weeks said. “Every time he’s out there, he’s going 110% which is what you want to see out of a linebacker.”

Atkins will be one of many young linebackers fighting for playing time at Auburn in 2025, joining freshmen Elijah Melendez, JJ Faulk and Bryce Deas. Those join experienced players such as Wheatland, Demarcus Riddick and Woodyard, giving the room similar depth to last season.

Auburn’s linebacker room was led by four seniors last season, highlighted by Eugene Asante, Jalen McLeod and Dorian Mausi Jr. The room won’t have the same level of experience in 2025, but the Tigers hope the young talent can make up for it.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m

Alabama football’s quarterback battle isn’t technically settled. However, Ty Simpson remains the frontrunner after spring practice, and the Crimson Tide’s coaches have been high on his potential.

Now, UA’s future opponents are praising Simpson. After the redshirt junior attended the Manning Passing Academy recently, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had kind words for his rival.

“I love Ty, he can spin the football,” Nussmeier told reporters at SEC media days in Atlanta Monday. “He’s a really, really good player, and so I’m looking forward to watching him this season and excited for him as well.”

Simpson wasn’t the only potential first-year starter to attend the Manning academy. The camp’s namesake family was represented by Texas’ Arch Manning.

Manning will speak to reporters in Atlanta later in the week. Before that, Nussmeier praised the heir to the nation’s most famous football family’s legacy.

“He’s a really good player Nussmeier said of Manning. “I’m definitely rooting for him. He’s waited his time. Kind of went through a similar experience that I did, waiting for an opportunity. So I think he’s prepared and ready to go, so I’m very excited for him.”

Nussmeier faced the Crimson Tide last season in Baton Rouge, when Alabama, led by Jalen Milroe, crushed the Tigers. LSU will make the return trip to Tuscaloosa this season, where it last played in 2023, another Alabama win.

Simpson served as Alabama’s backup behind Milroe for the past two seasons. He competed for the starting job ahead of the 2023 campaign, but did not win the battle.

However, he doesn’t have the starting spot completely in the bag yet. Simpson is competing with fellow returnee Austin Mack, as well as five-star true freshman Keelon Russell.

New UA offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said Simpson would be starting for Alabama if the season had begun immediately after spring ball.

“(Simpson) earned that, okay?” Grubb said. “And I know that’s the line everybody’s looking for, but that is what he earned. Austin Mack made huge strides, also available reps were the same, you know, and he did a really good job. He came out and developed. Just with some of the nuances and take care of the football and things like that, but Ty showed out a little bit better.”

Alabama will begin preseason camp in early August. The Crimson Tide opens the 2025 season with a trip to Tallahassee to face Florida State on Aug. 30.

A 62-year-old man was killed in a weekend crash in Bessemer.

The wreck happened at 11:06 p.m. Saturday on Alabama 150 at Fairfax Avenue.

Few details have been released, but authorities said multiple vehicles were involved.

Stephen Parker Vining, of Bessemer, was pronounced dead on the scene at 11:23 p.m., according to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing by Bessemer police.

Fort Rucker is making its name change official Thursday – its second in two years’ time.

An installation redesignation ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum at the newly-renamed Fort Rucker in Dale County.

Only this time, the installation takes its name not from a Confederate figure but a World War I aviator.

Fort Rucker was originally named for Confederate Col. Edmund W. Rucker, a brigade commander during the Civil War who fought at Chickamauga, Franklin and Nashville. After the war, he was an industrial figure in Birmingham who made his home in Five Points. He died in 1924

Then in 2023, the name was changed to Fort Novosel after Enterprise resident Michael Novosel Sr. Under then-President Joe Biden, the Defense Department changed the names of several military bases that honored Confederate figures in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests.

Novosel was a military aviator for more than 40 years and received the highest military honor for his service in Vietnam. He died in 2006.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum reversing the naming of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg.

The base’s new namesake is Capt. Edward W. Rucker, a Missouri native who was called into service in 1916 and saw action in France during World War I.

He was credited with helping to down several German planes near Luneville, France on June 13, 1918, according to the Masonic Great War Project.

He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross along with 21 other officers and enlisted men, as well as the Croix de Guerre with palm.

“Flying deep behind enemy lines, then-1st Lt. Rucker and his fellow aviators engaged a numerically superior enemy force in a daring aerial battle over France, disrupting enemy movements and completing their mission against overwhelming odds,” the Army said in a statement last month.

After World War I, he relocated to New York before moving to St. Louis. He died in 1945.

A descendant of Edmund Rucker has spoken out against the renaming.

“Rucker family members support naming Army bases for individuals who fought for the United States….we don’t want our name back on an Alabama base,” K. Denise Rucker Krepp, a former House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee senior counsel, posted to X on Tuesday.

“Novosel is a Medal of Honor recipient,” Rucker Krepp said in another post to X.

“His name should remain on an Alabama base.”

LSU receiver Nic Anderson needed medical attention after a car accident on Friday, Brian Kelly revealed Monday during SEC Media Days.

“It wasn’t quite as bad as Colin Hurley’s, which was life-threatening, but enough that he had to get checked in and stayed overnight for observations,” Kelly said, per NOLA.com. “But he comes out of it really good.”

Hurley, a redshirt freshman quarterback, was involved in a single-car wreck in January. He has since rejoined the team.

Anderson, an Oklahoma transfer, is expected to be available when camp kicks off.

“I heard about that this morning,” LSU receiver Chris Hilton told reporters on Monday. “I hope he’s OK.”

Anderson was limited during spring practice while recovering from injury issues that plagued his career with the Sooners. He missed almost the entire 2024 season, while dealing with a leg injury issue.

He’s very electric, very, very good football player, and makes plays on the ball in the air that are unbelievable,” LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier said Monday. “For him and me it’s about getting the chemistry down and the timing and getting on the same page on things. And that’s what the summer has been for and spring ball.

“Very excited for Nic, and looking forward to what he’s going to be able to put out this year.”

Anderson broke out in his second season with the Sooners when he had 38 catches for 798 yards and 10 touchdowns.

LSU kicks off the season against Clemson on Aug. 30 at Memorial Stadium in an attempt to snap an opening-game losing streak that has stretched five years.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.

An inmate died Friday died Friday morning in the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham.

Michael Eugene Taylor, a 46-year-old Pinson man, was found unresponsive by his cellmates at 6:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.

He was pronounced dead at the jail at 6:59 a.m.

Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said an autopsy performed Saturday showed no trauma or foul play. Taylor’s cause of death is pending additional laboratory studies.

Taylor was booked into jail July 8 on charges of probation violation, using a false identity to avoid arrest, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, and identity theft.

The investigation is ongoing by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Darius Rucker is giving fans a refund.

The country music star took to social media to apologize for his voice giving out just a couple of songs in to his Atlantic City show on Saturday night.

“I feel awful and I’m so sorry — I have never lost my voice in all my years of performing,” Rucker posted on his Instagram story Sunday.

“We looked at every option to reschedule, but unfortunately, it’s just not possible this year, so we’re issuing full refunds. … Thank you so much for all your kind messages wishing me well. Love y’all and see you soon!”

Rucker, per PhillyBurbs, apologized after his third song.

“Y’all I can’t sing anymore. I will play one more song. I promise you we’re going to figure this out,” he said. “ … This never happened. I physically can’t sing…I will make this up to you.”

Fans managed to film the incident and post to to social media.

Rucker’s next scheduled performance is in Hollywood, Fla. on Saturday.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.

When Nick Saban retired as Alabama football coach in January of 2024, he seemed like he was making a clean break from coaching. Saban started golfing more, working for ESPN and looked to be enjoying his departure from the day-to-day grind of college sports in its modern form.

It might not be that simple. During his radio show on WJOX in Birmingham on Monday, former Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy said he had heard Saban could return to the game.

“A very much in the know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around and just really, really admire, they seem to think Nick Saban is not done coaching,” McElroy said of his former coach. “He’s pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again.”

McElroy said that he wouldn’t have brought the speculation up “if it wasn’t somebody notable.”

Saban, now 73-years-old, won an Emmy for his work on ESPN’s College Gameday this past season. He joined the show’s desk as an analyst, earning rave reviews for his work.

Appearing on McElroy and Cole Cubelic’s show, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum disagreed with the idea that the man who won six national championships in Tuscaloosa could return.

“He had a better situation at Alabama the day he left than he’ll have anywhere he goes, let’s say next year,” Finebaum said. “I don’t know if it’s college or pros. Could he be talked into something in the NFL? I don’t know how, because I don’t think that itch burns anymore either, but my opinion is Nick Saban is done in coaching.”

Later, appearing on ESPN, McElroy also said he didn’t quite believe in the idea.

“You want my personal opinion? I think he’s done,” McElroy said. “I’d be shocked [if he came back]. … There are people connected to the sports world that think he’s not done. Now, interpret that however you will. People that would be somewhat knowledgeable about something like this, yes.”

McElroy said his source had not said whether Saban would consider college or NFL jobs. Appearing on the same show, Finebaum again threw cold water on a potential return.

“I was with somebody the other day, who’s around Saban a lot, not in the state of Alabama, but in Florida, and he described to me what I’m sure you’ve heard many times … is that he’s having the time of his life,” Finebaum said. “He’s playing at better golf clubs than he’s ever been, and that will continue, because everybody wants Nick Saban to be in their golf club. He’s making a fortune when he decides he wants to make a speech. He’s making a fortune when he shows up on ESPN once a week.

“And why would you give all that up at the age of 74? … It makes no sense except that Nick Saban is the most competitive human being on the planet.”

Saban’s final year at Alabama, the Crimson Tide made the final four-team College Football Playoff, falling to Michigan in his final game. Since retirement, he mentioned not enjoying the status quo in college football, with changes to NIL and transfer regulations.

However, with more structure theoretically in place after the House v. NCAA settlement, perhaps one of the greatest of all time could be persuaded to return.

President Donald Trump is facing major backlash from his base over his Truth Social post urging patience with embattled Attorney General Pam Bondi and to “not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein.”

The Saturday afternoon post did not sit well with Trump’s most hardcore supporters, especially those who want Trump to live up to his campaign promise release the so-called “Epstein files.”

Trump’s post was “ratioed,” meaning there were more replies — 45,800 as of Monday morning — than likes — 40,900 as of Monday morning. The ratio indicates that the post was extremely unpopular.

“We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” the president posted, alleging that the “Epstein files” were “written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration…”

Trump’s post drew anger from some of his most ardent supporters.

“This is NOT going away and will leave a stain on your presidency!” wrote jamesangst.

“Wow, realize the majority of your base wants to get to the truth, no matter who is guilty! We realize they likely put innocent people on the list. We want the guilty punished. If it’s been covered up, we want the people involved. If all the records have been hidden or deleted, we want the people responsible,” he continued.

“This is unbelievably disappointing and will make many people believe you or some people close to you are criminals who are involved.”

Trump supporter DeWayne Sykes said the president will lose his base if he goes back on his promises surrounding the Epstein files.

“This is going to cost you so many supporters. I being one of them. I have been to multiple rallies and even was there on J6. This is one of the main things that needs fixed,” Sykes wrote.

“Our 2 tiered system of justice needs to end. We the people are tired of it. They can’t be charged with child trafficking without there being perpetrators.”

On July 6, the Department of Justice and the FBI issued a joint memo saying there was “no incriminating ‘client list’” and “no credible evidence” that Epstein blackmailed co-conspirators who sexually abused underaged girls provided by him, Axios first reported.

MAGA was not buying the explanation after Bondi told Fox News in February that the list was on her desk.

“You aren’t reading the room Mr President,” posted Democratsux63.

“You can’t call the Epstein files fake, say nobody cares and warn MAGA to fall in line. You said Pam Bondi is doing a fantastic job, your administration is perfect and Epstein is just an Obama distraction. We don’t just fall in line,” they wrote.

“If you’re Administration is perfect then who is the real fool?”

Another supporter warned Trump that he is not bigger than the base.

“President Trump, reading these comments should tell you that you don’t understand MAGA,” posted the handle @laureleye. “You didn’t create MAGA. MAGA created you. And all you are doing is feeding into the divide by not addressing the problem.”