Kane Wommack and Maurice Linguist, Alabama’s defensive coaches, have an open competition on their hands at cornerback in spring practice for the Crimson Tide.
Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry and Terrion Arnold are moving on to the National Football League. Trey Amos (Ole Miss), Antonio Kite (Auburn), Dezz Ricks (Texas A&M), Earl Little II (Florida State), and Jameer Grimsley (Florida) transferred to different schools. Alabama returns a steady presence in Malachi Moore to its defensive secondary for his fifth season.
DeVonta Smith, a redshirt junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, is back for his fourth season with the Tide. Alabama also brought in two transfers, Domani Jackson (USC Trojans) and Keon Sabb (Michigan Wolverines), adding experienced depth at the position.
The Crimson Tide has had lockdown corners in the past, but does the coaching staff have it in this group?
Several true freshmen, including Jaylen Mbakwe, Zabien Brown, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., Rydarrius “Red” Morgan, Zavier Mincey, and Aeryn “Bubba” Hampton, have an opportunity to battle for playing time at corner in the fall. Malachi Moore likes Morgan’s athleticism, but he spoke highly of Jahlil Hurley and Domani Jackson’s progress through a couple of days of spring practice.
“They are great technique guys,” Moore said about Hurley and Jackson. “Coach Mo [Maurice Linguist] does a great job of bringing in the nuances that he learned from the Dallas Cowboys. Both guys are competitors, and they work really hard.”
Jackson, an alumnus of Mater Dei High School in California, carries the athletic frame and physical tools to be a cornerback at 6’1″ and 190 pounds. He played two seasons (2022-23) for the Trojans, including 11 games last year. Jackson had 33 total tackles and three pass breakups. He was not in the best defensive situation under Alex Grinch at Southern California, so a change of scenery to Wommack’s 4-2-5 “Swarm Defense” is what Jackson needs. He has the potential to be a first-round cornerback.
Hurley, an alumnus of Florence (Ala.) High School, was one of several five-star defensive backs in Alabama’s 2023 class.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder did not play last year; however, he practiced a lot and has a year in the system. He was a star for the Florence Falcons, totaling 56 tackles, five interceptions, six pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery for his senior year in 2022. Hurley had 10 career interceptions combined for his junior (2021) and senior (2022) campaigns.
He has a lot of talented freshmen to fend off, but we will see if Hurley pulls out one of two cornerback spots.
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Michigan and Ohio State are sure to play another spirited game on the gridiron this season, but it sounds like there will be no flag planting afterward regardless of the outcome. Michigan won its fourth straight game against Ohio State last season, and the Wolverines' latest victory was the biggest upset the rivalry has seen in years. The eventual national champion Buckeyes were ranked No. 2 in the country when an unranked Michigan team went into Columbus and beat them, 13-10. A huge scrum broke out after the game when Michigan players stood on Ohio State's midfield logo and pretended to plant their flag in enemy territory. The brawl got so out of hand that stadium police wound up using pepper spray. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said his players will not be partaking in any flag-planting activity going forward. "There will be no more flag planting. There will be no more grabbing the flag," Moore said. "We talked about our new tradition and what we do when we win a game is go beat the band, go sing our (fight song) and stay over there until the other team departs. That's how we'll operate — shake hands after the game, show sportsmanship, be cordial." While there has been no formal ban of flag planting, Ohio State coach Ryan Day also expressed opposition to the act after last year's incident. Ohio State and Michigan have one of the best rivalries in sports, so there is always going to be bad blood between the two programs. Moore and Day are doing what they can to make sure things don't get out of hand again the next time their teams meet.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking for a solution to their bottom-six surplus, and veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok remains at the center of trade discussions. However, according to The Fourth Period, trade talks surrounding the 33-year-old winger have failed to gain momentum. They write: “He has a $2.1M cap hit and owns a 10-team no-trade list. The market hasn’t been vibrant, to this point, but the Leafs will continue to dangle him.” Why can’t the Maple Leafs find a taker for Jarnkrok? Jarnkrok has quietly been on the trade block for much of the offseason, but general manager Brad Treliving has yet to find a taker. After adding several depth forwards this summer, the Leafs now face a crowded bottom six — and Jarnkrok’s age, injury history and $2.1M cap hit through 2025–26 aren’t helping his value. Since joining Toronto, Jarnkrok has appeared in only 71 games over two seasons, scoring a modest 28 points. While his defensive versatility and penalty-killing ability are assets, his declining offensive production and durability concerns have made teams wary. With training camp approaching, the Maple Leafs may be forced to keep Jarnkrok on the roster — or retain salary in a deal — if they want to create space and flexibility. Dropping his cap hit down to just over $1M would open up the market a little. Until then, the Swedish forward remains a trade candidate in limbo. This isn’t great news as moving Jarnkrok from the roster is an important item on the team’s to-do list. Treliving would like more cap space, and with Jarnkrok and David Kampf both still on the roster, it hampers the GM’s ability to do other things.
The Kings have withdrawn their two-way qualifying offer to forward Isaiah Crawford, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM’s official NBA transaction log. Crawford signed a two-way deal with Sacramento last July after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech. The 23-year-old logged just 46 total minutes in 15 games at the NBA level as a rookie, but was a key part of the rotation for the Stockton Kings in the G League, posting averages of 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 31.5 minutes per game across 37 outings, with a shooting line of .471/.401/.789. Crawford received a two-way qualifying offer from the Kings last month, making him a restricted free agent, and the deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw those QOs passed on July 13. However, qualifying offers can still be rescinded with the player’s consent, so Crawford signed off on the move him to make him unrestricted. The Kings have signed a pair of players – Dylan Cardwell and Isaiah Stevens – to two-year, two-way contracts since the new league year began on July 1. Rescinding Crawford’s qualifying offer suggests the team has other plans for its third two-way slot.
The Washington Commanders believe they have something special on their hands with Deebo Samuel Sr., and the veteran wide receiver is already making his presence felt in the best possible way. Samuel was cast aside by the San Francisco 49ers for nothing more than a fifth-round selection this offseason. Adam Peters wasn't ready to throw in the towel on his career, bringing him to the Commanders in a low-risk, high-reward transaction that could have significant benefits attached. Criticism around his focus, attitude, and conditioning was rife after the trade became official. Samuel's heard it all and is working immensely hard to silence every doubter coming his way. And he's off to a tremendous start. Deebo Samuel Sr. is already standing out at Commanders training camp The former second-round pick out of South Carolina is setting the tone without the services of holdout Terry McLaurin to depend upon. Samuel has shone over the opening stages of training camp, and Zach Selby from the team's website believes this is just the start if the same trend continues. [Deebo] Samuel had the first explosive play of camp on Wednesday. That basically set the tone for the rest of the week for Washington's new wideout. Samuel has dedicated much of his time to building chemistry with Daniels and learning Washington's offense. He's made progress in both areas, and without giving too much away, the Commanders have taken advantage of Samuel's versatility. Samuel is determined to prove that he can still be an integral part of an offense, and so far, he has shown exactly that in the first week. It will be fun to see how he grows as he gets more comfortable in the scheme. If Samuel gets a clear run of luck on the health front, there's just no telling what he could accomplish in Washington. He looks lean, explosive, and hungry. And in terms of his scheme fit in Kliff Kingsbury's offense, it's a match made in heaven. Once McLaurin's situation gets resolved in a way that suits everybody, the Commanders have a potentially potent wideout tandem on their hands. Samuel is the best running mate he's ever had. And with players like Noah Brown, Luke McCaffrey, and rookie Jaylin Lane also expected to make a lasting contribution, Washington's passing attack looks in tremendous shape with quarterback phenom Jayden Daniels leading the charge. Samuel is a key cog in the wheel. Whether he can get anything close to his previous All-Pro-caliber production is debatable, but there's nothing to suggest a profitable campaign isn't well within his capabilities if he can extend this exceptional start into the regular season. Everything is going according to plan with a rejuvenated Samuel so far. Long may it continue. More Commanders news and analysis
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