SEC Football

Alabama's football program is so dominant under Nick Saban that it reached the College Football Playoff national championship game in a self-described "rebuilding year."

The head coach called the 2021 campaign as much during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning (h/t Brad Crawford of 247Sports):

"Last year, we had kind of a rebuilding year, so we should have nine starters back on offense and nine back on defense but six guys go out early for the draft. So now we have five back on offense and seven back on defense, so that in and of itself creates a few more question marks but also creates opportunity for other players to shine in the program and contribute in a positive way. Nobody knows for sure how all this stuff’s going to sort of come to fruition, but that's part of the excitement and challenge we have to try and develop a team."

First, some context.

Yes, basically every program in the country would dream of making the national title game in even its best season, so to hear a coach say it happened in a rebuilding year is somewhat jarring. But the standard is different at Alabama, which is in championship-or-bust mode every season under Saban.

That standard is a testament to his coaching excellence and what he has built with the ability to reload seemingly every time players head to the NFL.

The Crimson Tide have reached the CFP in seven of the eight years the postseason system has been in place. They advanced to the title game in six of those years and took home the national championship three times.

Any season that doesn't end in a championship could therefore be considered less than a success given that history, and Alabama looked vulnerable multiple times in 2021.

It defeated Florida by two points, LSU by six and Arkansas by seven in conference games that were much closer than expected. It also needed four overtimes to beat an Auburn squad that went 6-7 and then lost by 15 to Georgia in the national title game.

It was rebuilding in a sense after losing players such as Mac Jones, Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith to the NFL after winning the title during the 2020 campaign.

This season's Alabama team gets many of its primary contributors back, including quarterback Bryce Young and linebacker Will Anderson Jr. They are two of the top players in all of college football and could each feature prominently in the Heisman Trophy race.

If they do, a national championship will once again be the expectation for the Crimson Tide.

Texas A&M gained a significant boost to its 2023 recruiting class Saturday when it received a commitment from 5-star linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.

The Athletic reported the defensive standout selected the Aggies over Alabama, Miami, Oklahoma and USC.

Hill is rated as the No. 15 overall player and the top-ranked linebacker in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He's also the second-best prospect from the football-rich state of Texas.

The 6'2", 225-pound Ryan High School standout has also played running back in addition to his time leading the Raiders defense.

Ryan head coach Dave Henigan praised Hill's impact in September, per Steve Gamel of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

"He's definitely a catalyst. He's a phenom," Henigan said. "He's in even more of a leadership role than he was a year ago, and he was making plays back then. He's freakishly talented, but he's also a good kid and a hard worker. He's coachable, and you know he'll get better. He's just special."

Hill has the size and physical tools to become a high-impact, sideline-to-sideline linebacker at the college level. He's a reliable tackler and has also shown improvement in pass coverage, showing playmaking tendencies that could make him a force.

He possesses NFL upside if his development continues on its trajectory throughout his collegiate career.

Hill has shown enough in high school to believe he could make an immediate impact at the next level, but it'll likely take some time before his role as a freshman at Texas A&M is determined.

He'll eventually get his chance to shine for the Aggies, even if it doesn't happen right away. His arrival is a major in-state win on the recruiting trail for Jimbo Fisher and his staff.

Alabama provided a massive boost to its 2023 recruiting class Friday by securing a commitment from running back Richard Young.

Young is one of the most highly touted recruits in the 2023 class, with 247Sports rating him as a 5-star prospect on its composite list, as well as the No. 24 overall player and No. 2 running back in the class.

The 5'11", 200-pound Young stars at Lehigh Senior High School in Lehigh Acres, Florida, and was pursued by some of the top programs in college football.

Per 247Sports, Young received scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and USC, among many others.

Young has been highly productive since entering the high school ranks, putting up huge numbers despite limited carries.

In 2019, Young rushed for 854 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries, which was good for a yards-per-carry average of 7.7. He upped the average to 9.8 yards per carry in 2020, rushing for 982 yards and eight scores on 100 totes.

While Young has plenty of developing left to do, 247Sports' southeast recruiting analyst Andrew Ivins projects Young to eventually be a second- or third-round pick in the NFL draft and compared him to Kalen Ballage, who starred at Arizona State and has played for multiple NFL teams.

Young is an athletic and speedy back who uses his background in track to break away from the defense regularly, and his dynamic style of play should be a key addition to the Alabama offense.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is now set to have another electric weapon at his disposal, meaning the Alabama offense will likely continue to be one of the best in the nation.

Alabama has produced no shortage of big-time running backs over the past several years, including Najee Harris, Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram.

Young can now join that lineage and potentially put himself in position to be a high NFL draft pick and produce at that level as well.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban could have deprived himself of three of his seven career national championships. A new book reveals that the most successful coach in college football history was in talks to cut his career short and join ESPN in 2014.

According to The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban by AL.com senior sports editor John Talty, the 70-year-old took part in meetings after the season in pursuit of a broadcasting role.

Per Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post, Saban had "'zeroed in' on the possibility of joining ESPN’s College GameDay." He even "quizzed" then-ESPN senior executive John Wildhack about the experience of working for the worldwide leader and the company's structure. It reportedly was important to Saban to gauge whether it would be similar to "working on a team."

"Not because we didn't have a good conversation and not because he wasn't intrigued by television because he was intrigued and he was interested," Wildhack said in the book. "If he wasn't interested, he never would have done it in the first place. But I also didn't think he was ready to step aside as being a coach."

Glasspiegel pointed out that ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit's comments about the coach in 2014 likely indicated he was aware of Saban's interest in broadcasting. Herbstreit was asked about the possibility of Saban jumping to the NFL and replied, "Nick Saban will be on the set with us before he's a coach in the NFL. I really believe that after he's done at Alabama, whenever that time is, whether it's a year, five years, whatever it is, I really believe there's an itch there about becoming an analyst."

Saban made the right decision to stay at Alabama, as he went on to lead the Crimson Tide to national titles in 2015, 2017 and 2020.

The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban will be released on Aug. 9.

Defensive standout Joenel Aguero has committed to Georgia.

The four-star prospect announced his selection of the Bulldogs on Saturday on CBS Sports HQ.

Aguero is rated as the 34th player overall and the third-ranked safety in the 2023 class, per 247Sports' composite ratings. He's also listed as the second-best prospect out of Massachusetts.

247Sports' national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn provided a scouting report on the 6'0", 195-pound safety out of St. John's Prep:

"Frame to play at 195 to 205 in college. Elite safety prospect who has receiver ability. Missed part of freshman season with ankle injury. Overwhelming physical ability in Massachusetts high school scene. Can play in the box or in coverage. Aggressive playing down hill. Excellent body control. Breaks down and changes direction. Accelerates quickly and has top gear. Shows closing speed. Plays physical. Has to continue to develop backpedal and hip flexibility to open and run deep. Needs to develop man coverage skills to cover slot. Multi-year starter at high-level Power 5 school."

Aguero has a long career ahead of him and has NFL potential if he continues developing at the same rate throughout college.

The Bulldogs have had Aguero on campus several times since June 2021, and he is also very good friends with former Georgia defensive back and 2022 Minnesota Vikings first-round pick Lewis Cine, who gave his team an advantage in the recruiting process:

"He's just telling me Georgia is a great school all-around education-wise and it is a great school and all that," Aguero said, per Jeff Sentell of DawgNation.com. "But then you know Kirby Smart is a defensive guy and he played safety so he kind of just loves his safeties and prioritizes them. It is kind of really good for me."

Aguero also discussed what he liked about the Bulldogs.

"The biggest thing I like about Georgia is the vibe I get from them," he said. "When I went down there, I only got that vibe from like a couple of schools. Like three really. When I was there, I was comfortable being there. It felt good being there. It kind of felt like I was meant to be there if you know what I am saying."

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is sticking up for his starting quarterback heading into the 2022 season.

Speaking to reporters during SEC media days on Wednesday, Smart called Stetson Bennett "one of the least respected good players in the country."

"The kid is a tremendous athlete," added Smart. "He's got good arm strength. People keep doubting him, and that's fine with me."

It's certainly easy to forget what Bennett did for the Bulldogs during their run to the national title last season because of how much talent the roster had.

Georgia had 15 players selected in the 2022 NFL draft, setting a new seven-round record that dates back to 1994. That includes a record five defensive players being taken in the first round.

The 2021 Bulldogs were one of the best defensive teams in college football history. They led the nation with 10.2 points allowed per game and 4.16 yards allowed per play.

Per Josh Planos of FiveThirtyEight.com, Georgia also topped the nation in red zone efficiency (28.1 percent), goal-to-go efficiency (30.8 percent) and tackle percentage (88.7).

This was the second time in three years that Georgia had the best defense by points allowed per game. The 2019 squad ranked first in FBS with 12.6 points allowed per contest, but missed out on the College Football Playoff after losing to LSU in the SEC Championship Game.

The difference between the two teams was offensive efficiency. The 2019 team ranked 21st nationally in Football Outsiders' FEI metric that measures the points per possession scoring advantage a team would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average opponent.

The 2021 Bulldogs finished third in FEI, behind only Ohio State and Alabama.

Bennett, who was a walk-on at Georgia in 2017 and played behind Jake Fromm in 2019, made significant strides as a passer last season. The 24-year-old threw for 2,862 yards, 29 touchdowns and completed 64.5 percent of his attempts.

It's been easy to overlook Bennett because he played on one of the most loaded rosters in college football history last season. He's also not the best quarterback in the SEC—Alabama's Bryce Young won the 2021 Heisman Trophy.

Young got the best of Bennett in their first head-to-head meeting last season. The Crimson Tide star threw for 421 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-24 win in the SEC Championship Game.

However, Bennett got the last laugh in Georgia's 33-18 victory in the College Football Playoff National Championship. He finished 17-of-26 for 224 yards and two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith was suspended by the team after being arrested in Brazos County, Texas, on Wednesday.

Per TMZ Sports, Smith was arrested on suspicion of DWI and booked into jail on charges of unlawful carrying of a weapon, driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana.

Per ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Brazos County Jail records show that Smith posted $8,000 bail.

After the arrest, Texas A&M suspended the wide receiver and the program noted head coach Jimbo Fisher was aware and looking into the situation, per Travis L. Brown of The Eagle.

Per Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle, Smith was stopped for speeding by police around 2 a.m. local time. Officers found a "rolled joint of marijuana" and gun with a "full magazine and a round chambered" when they searched his car.

The Aggies chose Smith as one of their player representatives, along with head coach Jimbo Fisher, at SEC media days.

Smith was removed from this session after his arrest, per Brown.

Smith is entering his senior season with the Aggies. He committed to the program in 2019 out of Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas.

The Missouri City native appeared in 11 games as a freshman in 2019. He racked up 302 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 2020, Smith split time between wide receiver and running back. He led the team with 10 total touchdowns and ranked second with 857 yards from scrimmage in 10 games.

Smith led the Aggies with six receiving touchdowns and finished second with 506 receiving yards last season. He announced in January that he was returning to school for his senior year.

Texas A&M will open the 2022 regular season Sept. 3 against Sam Houston State at Kyle Field.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said he's open to the program setting up a future game against FCS opponent Jackson State, which is coached by NFL legend Deion Sanders.

"It's been great to see Deion's success, Coach Sanders' success and how well he's doing," Kiffin told reporters Monday at SEC media days. "I don't know future plans on that, but that would be exciting."

Sanders took over the Jackson State program in 2020, and he's helped the squad turn a corner. The Tigers have compiled a 15-5 record across his first two seasons, highlighted by winning the SWAC Championship Game last season.

While that success combined with Sanders' high-profile status makes Jackson State an intriguing schedule option for Power Five teams—the matchup would create far more interest than a usual buy game—the former cornerback isn't always a fan.

In September, Sanders told Andscape's Jean-Jacques Taylor that "all money ain't good money."

"Normally you just get paid to get beat. Your program makes a little more money than they normally would and you go get your butt kicked," he said. "I don't believe in that. I don't know how that helps anybody."

Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson agreed with Sanders, saying the program would turn down most Power Five offers in favor of games against FBS opponents where the Tigers could be more competitive.

Robinson confirmed the exception would be in-state opponents like Ole Miss or Southern Miss.

"Those games would be historic," Robinson told Taylor. "Those are the only Power Five games we'll be looking at."

So a showdown between Kiffin's Rebels and Sanders' Tigers could be possible in the coming years. A season-opening matchup would be particularly attractive if the sides eventually come to terms.

For now, the focus is the upcoming campaign. Ole Miss opens the 2022 season Sept. 3 when it hosts Troy at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, while Jackson State will play Florida A&M at Hard Rock Stadium for its opener Sept. 4.

Do not expect a war of words between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher to continue into the regular season.

The Alabama coach addressed his offseason spat with Fisher on Tuesday at SEC media days in Atlanta, saying he has "no issues" with his Texas A&M counterpart.

"First of all, I have no issues or problems with Jimbo," Saban told reporters. "He's done a great job at A&M, and he did a great job for us. I always take criticisms or whatever in a positive way to self-assess me personally to feel like there is maybe something I can do better.

"Any comment that anyone makes, I always take into consideration. But there are no problems."

Saban and Fisher traded barbs in May when Saban made a comment about how the Aggies "bought every player on their team." Fisher responded forcefully the following day, saying A&M has broken no NCAA rules and calling Saban's character into question. The SEC publicly reprimanded both coaches for their comments.

Fisher and Saban hashed things out before the conference's spring meetings.

"It's over with," Fisher said last month. "We're done talking about it. We're moving on to try to fix the problems of what we have in college football. There are a lot more pressing needs than our arguments."

Texas A&M signed 2022's top recruiting class thanks in large part to a robust investment from boosters in name, image and likeness deals for players. Saban has bemoaned the new NIL rules for creating an even wider gulf between top programs and the rest of the country, though he acknowledged Alabama benefits from the new rules.

"Name, image and likeness is not an issue for us at Alabama,” Saban said Tuesday. "And our players, I think, did better than anybody in the country last year. ... The biggest concern is how does this impact and affect recruiting because on the recruiting trail right now there's a lot of people using this as inducements to go to their schools by making promises they may or may not be able to keep in terms of what players are doing."

The seven-time national champion has also expressed concern over the rise of megaconferences in college football. The SEC is set to add Oklahoma and Texas in 2025, and the Big Ten will bring in UCLA and USC a year prior.

"Megaconferences will create more of a caste system, maybe, in college football, and everyone has to decide if that's the direction we really want to go or not," Saban said on ESPN's Get Up.

Saban estimated Alabama players earned more than $3 million in NIL deals over the past year. It's likely that number will continue to rise as booster groups look to keep their teams competitive.

Four-star linebacker Troy Bowles, who is ranked second at his position and 44th overall on 247Sports' class of 2023 composite high school football prospect rankings, announced his commitment to play college ball for the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

The 6'1", 205-pound Bowles is the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles. The younger Bowles plays high school ball at Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida.

Jesuit has been phenomenal with Bowles patrolling the linebacker spot. The team has gone 29-1 in the last two seasons, including 15-0 in 2021 en route to Florida’s 6A title. He won MaxPreps Junior All-American second-team honors last year.

In addition, Bowles participates in basketball and track and field at Jesuit.

Andrew Ivins of 247Sports provided a glowing scouting report and projected him as a future Day 2 pick in the NFL draft. His report, from Feb. 2022, read in part:

"One of the more complete three-down linebacker prospects to come out of Florida recently given his ability to not only take on blocks and blitz, but also cover tight ends and running backs. Has done nothing but produce since he was a freshman at one of the Sunshine State’s more tradition-rich high school programs totaling over 250 tackles, 12 sacks and 5 interceptions his first three years on varsity. Intelligent player that has a good feel for what’s going on around him..."

Per 247Sports, Bowles had 41 offers and made visits to UGA, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

Bowles is highly thought of around the ranking industry. Rivals has him 85th overall, and ESPN puts him at No. 26.

Now the high-potential prospect has settled on the Bulldogs, who have created a rich defensive tradition. The Bulldogs allowed the fewest points per game last year and also landed five defensive players in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Bowles could very well add his name to that long lineage of defensive stars when he steps foot on campus in Athens, which now features 247Sports' sixth-ranked class of 2023.