Following Nick Saban’s retirement, Blackshire joined fellow former Crimson Tide players Isaiah Bond and Amari Niblack in transferring to Texas to play for former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. Jonathan Allen is one of Washington's longest-tenured players has seen a lot of change and experienced a lot of losing. The team has been known as three different names, he has played in just one playoff game and he's on his fourth coach. Smith seemed in line to receive a bigger role in 2023 before injuries forced him to miss most of the season. Now, with significant shakeup at defensive back, Smith could have an opportunity to start at the Husky defensive back spot, which is essentially the nickel defensive back in Wommack's defense. Having long waited for an opportunity like this one, Smith is in a good spot to have a breakout season if he wins the starting job.
Both Nick and Terry Saban intend to fund the new program to a degree, according to the former Crimson Tide coach. They are also taking donations for the Saban Center STEM building, which is being set up to help local teachers access new technology. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. As a freshman in 2023, Proctor started all 14 games for the Crimson Tide on his way to being selected to the All-SEC Freshman Team. On Tuesday Coach DeBoer discussed adding Proctor back to the Alabama roster. The Crimson Tide is now one game away from elimination, while the Lady Vols can reach the Women's College World Series with their next win against Alabama.
Holloway is a former McDonald's All-American and 5-star recruit out of high school, nowgoal livescore and during his freshman season at Auburn was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. The solution agreed to in the settlement is landmark, but not surprising. College sports has been trending in this direction for years, with athletes receiving more and more monetary benefits and rights they say were long overdue. The latest college football re-rank from USA TODAY, which ranks every FBS program, has the Tide at No. 7 in the nation. The Commanders just announced David Blackburn as the director of player personnel, another change after holdover Eric Stokes left the organization.
Whether Fontenot becomes part of the settlement is unknown and it matters because the NCAA and its conferences don't want to be on the hook for more damages should they lose in court. In the new compensation model, each school will be permitted but not required to set aside up to $21 million in revenue to share with athletes per year, though as revenues rise so could the cap. Terms were not disclosed, though some details have emerged in the past few weeks.
Some type of federal legislation or antitrust exemption is likely still needed to codify the terms of the settlement, protect the NCAA from future litigation and pre-empt state laws that attempt to neuter the organization's authority. As it is, the NCAA is still facing lawsuits that challenge its ability to govern itself, including setting rules limiting multiple-time transfers. The settlement is expected to cover two other antitrust cases facing the NCAA and major conferences that challenge athlete compensation rules. Hubbard vs. the NCAA and Carter vs. the NCAA are also currently in front of judges in the Northern District of California. The suit also argued that athletes were entitled to a piece of the billions of dollars the NCAA and those conferences earn from media rights agreements with television networks.
The class-action federal lawsuit at the center of the settlement, House v. the NCAA, was set to go to trial in January. Now it is not far-fetched to look ahead to seasons where star quarterbacks or top prospects on college basketball teams are not only cashing in big-money NIL deals but have six-figure school payments in the bank to play. The deal still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case and plaintiffs will have the opportunity to opt out or challenge terms of the agreement.
Both Nick and Terry Saban intend to fund the new program to a degree, according to the former Crimson Tide coach. They are also taking donations for the Saban Center STEM building, which is being set up to help local teachers access new technology. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. As a freshman in 2023, Proctor started all 14 games for the Crimson Tide on his way to being selected to the All-SEC Freshman Team. On Tuesday Coach DeBoer discussed adding Proctor back to the Alabama roster. The Crimson Tide is now one game away from elimination, while the Lady Vols can reach the Women's College World Series with their next win against Alabama.
If it stands, it will usher in the beginning of a new era in college sports where athletes are compensated more like professionals and schools can compete for talent using direct payments. That means there are several unknown or relatively unproven commodities. And a new coaching staff can mean new uses for players who might not have seen as big of a role in a different system.