A fifth-round selection in the NFL Draft on April 27, Robinson had been on injured reserve since Aug. 27 after sustaining a toe injury during training camp. He did not play during the preseason.
Robinson returned to practice on Oct. 30, opening a 21-day period for the Jaguars to add him to the active roster or leave him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Robinson joined the 53-man roster as wide receiver Gabe Davis was transferred to injured reserve. Davis sustained a season-ending knee injury in Jacksonville’s 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
The Jaguars’ leading rusher this season is former Auburn standout Tank Bigsby with 519 yards and four touchdowns on 95 carries. Bigsby missed Sunday’s game because of an ankle injury.
Running back Travis Etienne had more than 1,000 rushing yards in each of the previous two seasons for Jacksonville. But he has missed two games and had three other games with six or fewer rushing attempts this season.
As a freshman at Alabama in 2019, Robinson ran for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries and returned one kickoff for 22 yards. He was the No. 3 rusher for the Crimson Tide that season, behind Najee Harris, now the starting running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Brian Robinson Jr., now the starting running back for the Washington Commanders.
Robinson opted out of the 2020 season during the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2021, Robinson transferred to Texas, where he joined the Longhorns new coach, Steve Sarkisian, who had been Alabama’s offensive coordinator in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Robinson played behind Bijan Robinson, now of the Atlanta Falcons, in 2021 and 2022 and Jonathon Brooks, now of the Carolina Panthers, in 2023 at Texas. Keilan Robinson ran for 542 yards and six touchdowns on 82 carries, caught 35 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns and returned 38 kickoffs for a 23.6-yard average and one touchdown while with the Longhorns.
Four players have returned kickoffs for Jacksonville this season. They’ve averaged 26.2 yards on 19 returns.
The Jaguars are on their bye week. They will return to action with a 2-9 record in an AFC South game against the Houston Texans at noon CST Dec. 1 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
As the early signing period approaches, movement in recruiting classes across the country is already taking place.
It happened to Auburn Tuesday night when three-star offensive line commit Spencer Dowland decommited. He made the announcement in a post on X (formerly Twitter), thanking Hugh Freeze and the Auburn coaching staff.
A 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle, Dowland holds offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Florida State, among other schools. He recently visited Ole Miss on Oct. 27, according to a post on his X account. He is the No. 909 overall recruit in the country and the No. 34 recruit in Alabama, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
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A senior at Athens High School in Athens, Alabama, Dowland is a two-sport athlete who also wrestles.
A deadly Birmingham shooting following a dispute on the social audio app Clubhouse showed the suspect on surveillance video lunging toward a victim with what appeared to be a gun, a detective testified on Tuesday.
The attorney for that suspect contends his client was shot at first and there is no way he should have been charged in what could possibly be a self-defense shooting.
He is also charged with attempted murder in the wounding of Keandra Hendrix, who was Lee’s girlfriend and who police say was involved in a dispute with the suspect.
Jefferson County District Judge Katrina Ross ruled there was enough evidence to send the charges to a grand jury for indictment consideration.
Officers made entry into the home and found a man and woman injured.
Lee was pronounced dead on the scene. The woman was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Two children, ages 7 and 5, were inside the home were unharmed.
The dispute between Williams-Johnson and Hendrix appears to have started on the social audio app Clubhouse, which is similar to a Zoom call.
The argument could be heard on the app as the suspect arrived at the apartment and listeners said to call police.
Multiple shots were then heard.
Jefferson County Deputy District Charissa Henrich is prosecuting the case. Williams-Johnson is represented by attorney Roderick Walls.
Birmingham homicide Det. Ronald Davenport was the lone witness in the hour-long hearing.
Davenport said when he arrived at the apartment, Lee was dead in the kitchen from gunshot wounds to the chest, torso, hand and arm.
Hendrix had been taken to UAB Hospital with a gunshot wound to the head, and cuts and scrapes from shrapnel.
Detectives found about eight shell casings on the scene – one from a 9 mm gun, and the rest from a 40-caliber gun.
No gun was found in Lee’s apartment, and no guns have been found in connection with the shooting, Davenport said.
Hendrix told investigators she was at the apartment with Lee and his two children. Williams-Johnson, a contractor who did maintenance at the public housing complex, showed up at the home, she told them.
A man was killed and a woman injured in a shooting on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Birmingham’s Collegeville community.(Carol Robinson)
Davenport said Williams-Johnson and Lee did not know each other, but that Williams-Johnson and Hendrix were acquaintances and were in some type of argument. He did not disclose the nature of the dispute.
Williams-Johnson arrived at the apartment in a burgundy SUV and Hendrix was standing at the doorway of the apartment. At some point, Lee came downstairs and was standing behind his girlfriend.
The interaction was captured on Birmingham Housing Authority surveillance cameras monitored by the police department’s Real Time Crime Center.
Davenport said Williams-Johnson had a cell phone in one hand and what appeared to be a gun in his other hand.
He said there was no audio on the footage, but it showed the two arguing. Lee could not be seen on the video.
Williams-Johnson, he said, “lunged” toward Hendrix and then started firing, continuing to do so as he ran back toward the waiting SUV.
At around 1:40 a.m. that Sunday, Williams-Johnson showed up at UAB Hospital suffering from a gunshot wound to his left arm. North Precinct officers detained him, and he has been in custody since then.
Davenport said video from UAB Hospital showed Williams-Johnson arriving at the emergency room in the burgundy SUV seen in Collegeville. He was wearing the same clothing as the shooter in the housing authority footage.
Under questioning from defense attorney Walls, Davenport said Hendrix did not tell him who fired the first shot.
Williams-Johnson, testimony showed, said that Lee fired on him first.
“I didn’t find anything in the video to confirm or deny,’’ Davenport said.
Asked by Walls why charges were filed against Williams-Johnson when he claimed he was shot at first, Davenport said the gunfire didn’t start until the suspect lunged at Hendrix.
“In my experience as being a homicide detective,’’ Davenport said, “just because you didn’t shoot first, doesn’t mean you’re not wrong.”
Walls asked the detective if he was aware that Hendrix had posted statements in the Clubhouse app that contradicted what she told police, and Davenport said he had heard rumors of that but that investigators have not yet been able to get access to the Clubhouse posts.
Davenport also responded to questions from the defense attorney that Hendrix said she did not know what happened to the gun used by Lee.
Walls argued the charges against his client should be dismissed.
“To charge him with capital murder is not just a stretch, but goes beyond,’’ Walls said. “If someone shoots you with a 9 mm gun, you have a right to shoot back and that’s where we are.”
Henrich pointed out that Williams-Johnson never called 911 and is a convicted felon so therefore shouldn’t have been in possession of a firearm.
“Does that make him guilty of capital murder?’’ Walls asked.
The prosecutor said any possible self-defense arguments are an issue for a jury to decide and not something decided at a probable cause hearing.
Judge Ross said she understands Hendrix has made conflicting statements, however her initial statement is what the detectives based the warrants on.
“The victim stated that (Williams-Johnson) shot her and her boyfriend and there’s a foundation for the capital murder because of the shooting into an occupied dwelling and there were also children present,’’ Ross said. “I feel the state has met its burden of probable cause.”
An east Alabama mother of eight children and her 1-year-old son were killed in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday morning in Cherokee County.
Alabama State Troopers identified the woman as 46-year-old Brandi D. Odell of Gadsden.
State Troopers do not release the names of juvenile victims, but family members on social media identified the child as her son, Andrew, who just turned 1.
The wreck happened at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday on U.S. 411 near Pine Cone Road, about one mile south of Leesburg.
Odell was taking two of her children to daycare and then headed to work as a social worker, co-workers posted on Facebook.
She was driving a Nissan Murano that left the road and struck a tree, said Senior Trooper Brandon Bailey.
Odell and Andrew were pronounced dead on the scene. Odell’s 3-year-old daughters survived the crash and was taken to the hospital.
The crash remains under investigation by troopers.
Alabama once again moved up in the College Football Playoff rankings when they were unveiled Tuesday on ESPN. When the newest top 25 was released, following the Crimson TIde’s Saturday win over Mercer, UA was ranked No. 7.
The Tide jumped up from No. 10 in the rankings, where it sat last week. UA was No. 11 in the first rankings of the year.
If the current rankings were final, Alabama would be a No. 9 seed, on the road at Notre Dame. The Tide would slip in the seedings vs. the actual rankings due to lower-ranked teamed that are projected to win their conference championships.
Alabama was aided in its rise through the rankings by a few losses by teams ahead of it. BYU slipped from sixth to 14th after dropping to Kansas.
Tennessee also lost on the road at Georgia. The Volunteers dropped from seventh to 11th following the defeat, with Georgia taking the No 10 spot.
Alabama’s road is now fairly clear. If the Crimson Tide can win out the rest of the way, it is almost certainly in the playoff field, something that was by no means a certainty earlier in the season, with UA lost to both Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
The Tide can also find its way into the top four, meaning it would get a bye in the first round of the CFP and move directly to the quarterfinals. Those spots go to conference champions, and the Tide has a road to the SEC title game, provided it can beat Oklahoma and Auburn to close the regular season.
Alabama and Oklahoma are set to play at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday in Norman. The game will be aired on ABC.
The final CFP field will be unveiled on Dec. 8. The first-round games will be played Dec. 20 and 21 at campus sites.
CNBC reports $65 million of those funds will be invested into supporting owners who have lost business, targeting those in the hardest-hit states. Approximately $35 million will be invested in marketing efforts. Among those efforts will be “local recovery plans for highly impacted markets.”
According to multiple reports, the fast-food giant sent a memo to company employees and store owners saying it would give more details about the recovery plans in the coming weeks.
In October, McDonald’s temporarily removed the Quarter Pounder burgers from roughly 3,000 locations following the E. coli outbreak.Earlier this month, McDonalds returned the burgers with slivered onions to restaurant menus nationwide, reports CNBC.
On October 22, California-based food manufacturer Taylor Farms initiated a voluntary recall of yellow onions sent to McDonald’s and other food service customers, according to the FDA.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said is still investigating the E. coli outbreak. As of Nov. 13, the agency has recorded 104 cases in 14 states including 34 hospitalizations and one death.
University of Mobile basketball player Kaiden Francis died Tuesday after collapsing on campus.
Francis, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, collapsed Tuesday morning.
“Despite the quick and heroic efforts of students and medical professionals, Kaiden never recovered and passed away earlier today,” University of Mobile President Dr. Charles Smith said in a statement to AL.com. “Our hearts are heavy as we process this tragedy.”
Wednesday’s classes have been canceled to allow the university community time to gather. There will be campus-wide time of prayer and mourning on Wednesday.
“My family and I had the privilege of watching Kaiden play just last week,” Smith’s statement read. “He was profoundly gifted and clearly loved by his teammates. As you can imagine, Kaiden’s family, coaches, and teammates are heartbroken and need our prayers.
“As we walk through this together, I want to encourage you to remember where our help and hope come from. You may recall the first chapel of the semester began with a simple, but profound question: ‘Who is God?’
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“Psalm 23 reminded us that even in the darkest valleys, we can trust that God is good, God is in control, and God is working all things – including this unspeakable tragedy – together for His glory and the good of His people. That doesn’t answer all our questions, nor does it bring our friend back, but it does point us to our deepest need: faith in The One who has always been, and will always be, faithful. As we grieve together, let’s do so with eyes fixed squarely on Jesus.”
The No. 24 Rams are coming off an 81-49 win at No. 20 Life on Saturday to improve to 6-0 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. Francis came off the bench to score 10 points in the win.
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences university integrating faith and learning with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose.
A homicide investigation is underway in Montgomery after a 6-month-old boy died in a Birmingham hospital of injuries he sustained earlier this month, authorities said Tuesday.
Montgomery police were notified Nov. 7 about a 6-month-old boy with life-threatening injuries who had been taken to a hospital in Birmingham, said Maj. Saba Coleman.
The boy was pronounced dead on Nov. 10, said Coleman. His body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for an autopsy.
The circumstances of the child’s death were not initially known, which prompted a death investigation.
New information determined the boy was the victim of a homicide, Coleman said.
Further details about how the child was injured or about the case were not released.
Anyone with information that would be helpful to the investigation was asked to call CrimeStoppers at 334-215-STOP, Secret Witness at 334-625-4000, or Montgomery police at 334-625-2831.
Mike Elko said his Texas A&M team is focused on Saturday’s game with Auburn and not the big showdown looming with Texas.
Then again, his hilarious slip up Tuesday would seem to indicate otherwise.
“When you’re in the situation we’re in, it’s easy to focus on the task at hand,” he said. “You know, I think those big games earlier in the year, maybe you look ahead, and if we didn’t have what’s at stake, maybe you would worry about it.
“Our focus is single-handedly on Texas, I mean, Auburn right now and locked in on what needs to get done.”
Texas A&M (8-2, 5-1) needs to win the last two regular-season games to earn a berth in the SEC Championship Game, with a chance of making the CFP.
The first step, however, is a date Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium against Auburn (4-6, 1-5 SEC). The game will air on ESPN.
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Marcel Reed threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score in less than three quarters to help No. 15 Texas A&M cruise to a 38-3 win over New Mexico State. It was a bounce-back performance for Texas A&M, which was handed its first SEC loss after being shut out in the second half of a 44-20 defeat at South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Cam Coleman caught three of Payton Thorne’s career-best five passing touchdowns, and Auburn defeated Louisiana-Monroe 48-14. Thorne threw for 286 yards. KeAndre Lambert-Smith had 104 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Jarquez Hunter added 102 rushing yards.
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.
The lawsuit was filed in Macon County on Tuesday by attorneys for Tamika and Larry Johnson Jr., the parents of 18-year-old La’Tavion Johnson.
The suit names as defendants Tuskegee University; former university Police Chief Terrance Calloway; International Protections Investigation Agency and its owner Reginald Brown; Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, the university’s facilities management company; Jaquez Myrick, a Montgomery man charged with being in possession of an illegal machine gun; and multiple other unnamed defendants.
Instead, he was shot and killed in the early-morning hours of Nov. 10 on the Tuskegee University campus. His family previously told AL.com he died saving someone else.
“It’s an unfortunate tragedy that could have been avoided with appropriate policing and security measures on the campus,’’ said Birmingham attorney Tedd Mann of Mann & Potter.
“They had a somewhat similar shooting on the campus just a year ago, and we feel like the defendants involved, particularly those at the university and the contractors that were working with the university really failed to adequately secure the premises of the university.”
When asked for a response to the lawsuit, Tuskegee University officials said they do not comment on pending litigation.
The shooting happened in that Sunday’s predawn hours at West Commons on-campus apartments. Some of it was caught on social media videos.
The shooting came as Tuskegee’s 100th Homecoming Week was winding down. Its football team that Saturday had played Fairfield-based HBCU Miles College.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Lt. Jeremy Burkett said of the 16 others injured, 12 of those were shot. They were taken to hospitals in Montgomery and Lee County.
According to Burkett, four others sustained injuries during the ensuing chaos.
Myrick and another man, Jeremiah Williams, have been charged federally on illegal machine gun charges. No one has yet been charged in La’Tavion Johnson’s death or the wounding of the others.
Prior to the shooting, according to the lawsuit, Tuskegee University operated a campus which allowed open entry and visitation by students, guests and visitors.
University and security officials, the suit contends, “were aware of a number of violent occurrences at the campus of Tuskegee University, including discharge of firearms, physical threats and acts of physical violence.”
Still, the lawsuit says, those named in the lawsuit allowed the possession of firearms on campus.
With the homecoming festivities taking place, the defendants were aware of the need for increased security when intercollegiate athletic events, such as homecoming, were held on campus, lawyers contend.
While they may have provided additional security services and officers at the football stadium, they failed to provide increased security officers for campus-wide properties of Tuskegee University, including in the areas around and surrounding student dorms, the suit states.
The defendants, according to the lawsuit, “were aware that homecoming festivities would attract large crowds on…campus and that students, alumni, guests and visitors would be participating in alumni reunions, sorority reunions, fraternity reunions, and other related festivities surrounding homecoming.”
Myrick, the lawsuit states, went onto campus with a gun that had a Glock switch, or a machine gun conversion device, which allowed him to “shoot and spray projectiles at students, guests and visitors on the campus of the university homecoming festivities, as well as gatherings on the campus.”
“He was allowed to enter the campus with this deadly firearm and scores of ammunition without so much as having to show an ID or to be required to have his person and/or his vehicle scanned inspected or prohibited from entry onto the campus while possessing a firearm and ammunition,” the complaint states.
The defendants, attorneys said, failed to monitor and supervise the campus in a way to prevent the possession and use of guns, provide adequate security and security forces, and warn students and visitors of potential criminal acts.
Tuskegee President and CEO Dr. Mark A. Brown said the university was making the changes to protect students. “Tuskegee University is no longer an open campus,” Brown said.
Brown said the school hired over 70 additional law enforcement officers from throughout Alabama and Georgia with authority for crowd control and warned of prohibitions against drugs and guns on campus.
“However, the general campus remained open, and we did not, nor could we have planned for security at an event that was not approved in advance or officially sanctioned by the university,” Brown said.
“The event in which the shooting took place was not approved in advance, and in no way was it sanctioned by the university.
“Nonetheless,’’ he said, “it happened on our campus, and we take full responsibility for allowing a thorough investigation and implementing corrective actions.”