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More changes are coming with the upcoming House vs. NCAA settlement
With the NCAA tournament in the rearview mirror, Alabama’s basketball squad is now square in the middle of transfer portal silliness. Yesterday, the Tide picked up a 7ft center in Noah Williamson, but they also lost redshirt freshman Naas Cunningham.
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A native of West Orange, New Jersey, Cunningham was a Top 50 recruit in the 2024 cycle. He was once considered the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 class before his development stagnated late in his high school career.
Cunningham was considered more of a project and spent the season redshirting. Minutes would have been few and far between for him so by taking a redshirt he preserved a year of eligibility. He will have four years to play at whichever school he chooses.
Who knows why this one didn’t work out, but by all accounts, it seems like it was an expected move from both sides. With LaBaron Philon seeming to be fairly likely to go for the NBA draft and another player or even two who could also be hitting the portal, Alabama will likely have room for 2-3 more portal additions before next season.
Here’s some spring scrimmage notes from Bama Hammer’s Ronald Evans:
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The Crimson Tide’s defensive backfield is loaded with talent. Utah transfer cornerback, Cam Calhoun, has stood out, with Kane Wommack saying, “It’s kind of nice to have another guy out there that plays up in people’s faces. Freshman defensive back Dijon Lee has dazzled and has a chance to become Alabama’s third corner. Calhoun and DaShawn Jones will likely battle it out to start at Husky.
Other new players have also impressed. Wide receiver Isaiah Horton can be a possession receiver and a deep threat. His 6’4”, 210lb. body will overpower many opposing defenders. On defense, freshman Wolf, Justin Hill is having a strong spring. Perhaps the biggest spring surprise is linebacker Abdullah Sanders. The former 3-star freshman led all Alabama defenders in tackles in the first scrimmage. He is way down the depth chart, but should be a solid contributor on Special Teams.
I think the battle for the Husky spot is one that isn’t being talked about enough. DaShawn Jones got some time there at the end of the season as a veteran player – so he provides a stable floor. But could Calhoun come in and take it? Kane Wommack certainly seems to be fan of Calhoun’s attitude… And he didn’t transfer to not play. On top of that, freshman Ivan Taylor has supposedly been making his fair share of waves since January, and represents significant upside as a hybrid safety.
The Husky position is one that requires a fairly unique skillset to help Wommack’s defense function as intended, and I don’t think it was something Alabama quite had last year.
Speaking of DBs, it seems like people may be starting to catch on to coach Maurice Linguist.
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“I just think he’s attractive for a parent, for their son to want to come here and be coached, because they’re cared for, they’re loved, they’re taught at an extremely high level,” DeBoer said of Linguist and his way with recruiting. “He does just such a great job in all those ways. So it’s personality mixed with ability and the want to. He’s a guy with a lot of drive, and he’s got a high expectation, so he gets after them. But it’s some tough love that he brings, and they appreciate that, because they want the same thing as he does, it’s to be their best.”
Linguist took a cornerback room that lost all of their starters and depth from the year prior and turned them into arguably the most consistent position group on the team last season, vaulting Alabama’s pass defense into the elite range. Then he went and pulled two of the top cornerbacks in the country in last year’s recruiting class, a highly rated transfer, and has now landed the commitment of the top cornerback for 2026. It’s only been one year, but if he keeps up this kind of production, he’ll be getting calls to big time coaching jobs sooner rather than later.
With the House vs NCAA settlement looming, Alabama’s AD, Greg Byrne, gave us a fairly lengthy interview about how Alabama is approaching the removal of scholarship limits.
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Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne said Monday that the school’s athletic department plans to add about 40 scholarships across its sports as a result of the House vs. NCAA settlement expected to be finalized this year.
“We are adding some,” Byrne told The Will Cain Show. “We’re gonna add about 40, but nowhere near what you’re hearing from Texas.”
Give the whole article a read, as Byrne speaks a good bit about the different sports and the financials behind them, but the short of it is that football will be moving to a 105-man roster limit, and you can probably expect a few new scholarships to go them in 2026, though I don’t expect it will be many – the Tide has struggled to keep 85 players on scholarship the last few seasons anyway.
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