Happy Gump Day, everyone. Not much going on over the week off, but we will bring you what we have.
Alabama had five players named All-SEC by the coaches.
The depth of talent in this league is crazier now than it ever has been.
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Matt Stahl chose three players that need to shine if Alabama is to advance in the playoffs.
This one is obvious. If Alabama is going to get past the Sooners this time around, its quarterback is going to need to play far better than he has in recent games.
The ability is certainly in there for Simpson. The redshirt junior was a leading Heisman Trophy contender earlier this year, and he’s fully capable of finding that level of performance once again.
But the back part of the season has been a downhill slide for Simpson. He’s taken some huge hits that have led to questions about his health, but with two weeks off, perhaps he can recapture the form.
Much like the rest of the Crimson Tide, Simpson was close to having a good game against Oklahoma last time around. He fumbled the ball away while being sacked from the blind side, and threw a pick, but Alabama still had a chance to win late.
He could have made that list much longer.
Mike Rodak notes that Ryan Williams remembering to catch the ball would help Ty out.
Williams is dropping passes at a rate not seen in recent Alabama history. CBS Sports’ database of dropped passes extends back to 2016, and Williams’ nine drops in 12 games this season are tied with Calvin Ridley’s nine drops in 15 games in 2016 as the most by a Tide player in that time period.
Williams’ 13.6% drop rate this season is the highest by any Alabama wide receiver with at least two catches per game in any season since 2016, and Williams’ 8.0% drop rate as a freshman in 2024 is the third-highest. The second-highest is Jaylen Waddle’s 10.0% drop rate in 2019.
Of the 24 games in which Williams has been targeted while playing at Alabama, he has dropped at least one pass in 13 of them.
Alabama landed a commitment from a 2027 tight end.
Colt Lumpris, a four-star tight end, announced his commitment to Alabama, joining quarterback Trent Seaborn, defensive end Jabarrius Garror and cornerback Nash Johnson III in the class.
Lumpris, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound tight end out of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, is listed as the No. 275 player and the No. 17 tight end in the 2027 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Lumpris is the first New Jersey player to commit to Alabama since Lotzeir Brooks in the 2025 class.
Needless to say, plenty can and will happen between now and December, but newsworthy nonetheless.
Last, Tuscaloosa News has a great series for you on Alabama first national title, which will be 100 years old on January 1.
Imagine enrollment at the University of Alabama at just 4,334 − about one-ninth of its size today − and an academic faculty that numbered under 100.
That’s how small the UA campus was in 1925, when Alabama football defeated Washington, 20-19, in Pasadena, California, for its first football national championship (the game was actually played Jan. 1, 1926). Of course, back then, Paul W. “Bear” Bryant was still decades away from earning his name on the facility, and it wasn’t even called Denny Stadium yet, just Denny Field.
Different times? You bet. Alabama Gov. W.W. Brandon received a wire message of congratulations from Tennessee Gov. Austin Peay, something that certainly wouldn’t happen in 2025.
Meet Claude Perry, Bruce Jones and James “Goofy” Bowdoin.
Alabama football’s Green Bay trio
Perry, a tackle from Goodsprings, was described in a 1926 article as “an experienced Rose Bowl performer” and “one of the fastest men on the team.” Reporters called him “a dealer of misery to opposing backs” and rated him among “the best tackles in Dixie.” His dominance in the trenches carried over to the professional ranks, where he played nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Hubert rallied his teammates against Washington after a dirty first half from Washington’s All-American halfback, George “Wildcat” Wilson, who twisted Johnny Mack Brown’s leg on a tackle after he was already down. Disgusted by the unnecessary roughness and his brothers not rising against the Huskies to avenge Brown, Hubert asked them a simple question during a break.
“All right, what the hell’s going on around here?” Hubert questioned.
From the beginning, Hubert was the calm in the storm, scoring the first touchdown to put Alabama on the board, and again as the Huskies surged late, finding a way to make the game-winning connection to Brown after the opposition fumbled the ball.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
