šŸˆ Fall Camp, 2025: News, notes, observations : 'Meat Church' cooks BBQ for the Tide.



Opening comments

Good scrimmage for the guys. I say it seems like every time, but I felt good about the back and forth.

There was times the offense moved the ball, especially early up up the field, and the defense did a nice job anchoring down as the scrimmage went along and got into some situations at the end -- some end of game stuff -- that I think is really important. You know, things that we're able to do much more and be comfortable repping those things. Doesn't mean it's perfect, but that's why we practice, and got some end game situations in there at the end too.

So, just kind of last second stuff, seven seconds and last play of the game type thing. But really all the injuries that we have right now. We've got Jaeden Roberts still dinged up. He got (dinged) in the middle of the week. Just stuff we're dealing with and keep evaluating him. So, don't expect to be a longterm thing, but don't know his timeline necessarily. And then James Smith (missed with a minor injury)...to come along and I like the progress that he's shown.

So neither one of those guys scrimmaged, but for the most part we're in a good spot. I think a lot of what we went through in the spring has really helped us. I was hoping it was going to be a blessing in disguise, but you know, I think we're building some depth and, you know, have a guy out there you feel good not just about that replacement or who's competing for those spots, but also the guys that are now moving up the depth chart maybe from a three to a two and so forth.

So, blessing in disguise, maybe we're building depth.

On the quarterbacks' performance, ball security, and decision timeline on a starter

The biggest thing with those guys, the quarterbacks, the question is, they've done a great job, first of all, taking care of the football, no picks today, and a few touchdown passes, I don't know the exact number, but a few touchdown pass between all three of them.

And the completion percentage over the course of camp for all three has been in that range that we want -- like to have a minimum of 65% and they just done a good job being consistent. They've taken care of the football. I think there's maybe three picks all camp when talking about seven on seven drills, team drills. I might be off on one probably. They've done a good job taking care of the football.

I think first week (they) missed a few plays. The last practices finding the ways to get explosives. I think commanding the huddle. I think your two guys that have been around the offense the longest, Ty and Austin, when they get in a huddle and they got to rattle off play (and) they're sharp and confident with it. Keelon (Russell) still learning those things and but he's doing a great job. The progress is something that you'd hope for and he's right there.

So, explosive opportunities, they got the ball there. They delivered the ball and timing feel like very few times are we in a spot where we're not throwing on time, and not confident with where we should deliver the ball. So, from a timeline, I know that's kind of what you want. I feel like we're we're getting closer.

I would have said before camp, we've definitely got to make a decision by the time we get done with the second scrimmage. And I would anticipate for sure that being the case and we'll see kind of how the next few days go. It's two good showings I think, especially by Austin and Ty again today, and again (Keelon) making the progress we hope for. You can see what he's going to be. It's just a matter of reps.

On what he saw from the running backs today

Jam (Miller) started out really well. I think the offensive line did a nice job creating some seams for Jam to hit. Got to the second level, broke a couple tackles. I thought it was one of the better showings I've seen Jam have in a scrimmage.

Then, you know, Daniel Hill is a guy we're getting more and more comfortable with. He's big back, but he's I think he's deceiving when it comes to what he does from a skill-set standpoint because he kept the ball in the back field. Dre (Washington) has been consistent all camp long. Thought he poured a couple runs up in there. Did a nice job maybe when there's not even something there, just moving the pile and getting those three-yard gains that are important to setting your offense up for good down distances. Rich (Young) continues to do his thing, too.

I think Jam certainly had the best day and that's been consistent. Feel good about all of them in pass protection. their responsibilities and the ability to go up there and execute and get the job done with blitzes and things like that. Our running backs doing a good job and they've been effective pass catchers as well.

On rotation at guard with Jaeden Roberts out and overall offensive line observations

Yeah, I mean when with Jaeden out today, the rotation was less. It was kind of those guys in there, left guard, Kam Dewberry, right guard Geno VanDeMark. And so that was kind of our lineup.

That's more than likely kind of what it looked like before camp. And you know, that hasn't really changed much with the main corps of six guys kind of competing for those spots.

On anything disappointing or concerning from today's scrimmage

I mentioned Jam getting some good runs the first couple plays of the game. Obviously that meant there were some seams. So the first drive in particular some seams and so we got to be ready to play you know gap integrity defensively. But I didn't feel like over the course of the scrimmage we had an issue with the run. So just being ready to go with the first couple plays.

Offense got down the field pretty quickly. Defense did a nice job anchoring down and keeping them out of the end zone though at the end (of the first drive). So some good give and take. When I say that, it's kind of first drive only, but I thought they did a good job. So then the alternative, what you'd like to see is the offense continue to execute, right? Nice job clamping it down (by the defense vs run).

I sit right wearing the headphones and every single play if I flip from one side to the other there's complaining and the guys upset and the other side there's a there's a crew that's pretty happy and ready to go play the next play. But I I think there's a good give and take. So I can't say that there was anything I was just like, "Man we are are in trouble. We're nervous about this." And again, we're playing some young guys there defensively. I know James Smith, I mentioned, has been out. So, getting good rotation, guys, getting a lot of good reps.

On how the team's depth at wide receiver and defensive back show up in the scrimmage today and what's impressed DeBoer throughout camp

Just new guys popping up, right?Guys that you would expect to make plays. You got Germ -- you talk about receivers -- you got Germ (Bernard) making a lot of plays today, (Isaiah) Horton getting his opportunity and Rico (Scott) just doing the little things that matter. Cole Adams made a nice play today -- one that was really good to see.

The depth the depth thing, we have a lot of positions, like I think about linebacker and o-line, where we got a lot of upper classmen and guys that have a lot of experience and then all of a sudden it drops down to where you're playing with (true freshmen) Michael Caroll and Jackson Lloyd at (offensive) tackle and that's the part that is nice to see.

You wish it wouldn't necessarily have to be that way. Tou'd love to have some maybe redshirt juniors. Olaus (Alinen) is doing a good job and things like that, but those young guys at maybe offensive line, I think linebacker is a lot the same, just really getting a lot of reps in there. You got Deontae Lawsons and that crew of upper classmen (at inside backer) and then you got the crew that's incoming freshmen. But I love the depth we're building. Those guys are going to be important, not just on defense, offense, but special teams. They're going to be really critical.

We played a lot of freshman last year. I think most in the SEC by far and I think one of the top three in the country.

On what was gained from the tight end since the spring

They're really consistent. I'm trying to think. There was a couple couple nice just moving the chains type things. Consistency. Can't say that there was a lot of explosive plays out of the tight ends, but they are extremely critical as far as moving around.

We do a lot of shifting and motioning. They're involved in protection. I thought they were really consistent. Again, not a lot of explosiveness that we saw from them. The explosiveness came from the other guys we were talking about in the skill area. So, I'm pleased with where it's going. We lost two really good ones that could do some things, especially up front when you when it comes to big bodies and having to play SEC football.

And I think we can probably continue to get better blocking at the point of attack, and especially, maybe, in short yardage or goal line situations. But that's a whole unit -- it's not just that position.

On the pass rush and who made plays in that area

I'd say the pass rush, and I think the offense does a good job of doing things to slow down the pass rush to counter it, because ofq that we know that there's some guys that can can get home and you can't leave them one-on-one.

So offensively, there's some good schemes and things that are going to keep that in check to keep our quarterback upright. That's one of the staples and one of the most important things of our offensive success is being able to have that quarterback not sit back there and be completely comfortable, but you got to keep them upright. We got to have them out there.

I think the offensive line probably did a better job. When there was one-on- ones, guys did a good job, you know. I think LT (Overton) continues to do a good job. I'm really excited about Qua (Russaw) and what he can do. Over the course of camp, I think, (he) has been consistent.

James Smith is an important piece of that, too. And it's just guys working together. And I think that's going to be the key for us is we had times where we got someone close, but you got to continue to just work together and not leave lanes for quarterbacks to run run through.

And I can see just everyone, as a defensive line and the linebackers involved in those fits, continue to surge the pocket, continue to to be disciplined and upholding their job and responsibility to where all of a sudden these huge lanes for a quarterback to run doesn't happen. Maybe happen once or twice. And I would attribute that to some good pretty good quarterback instinctual play as well.
 
In some ways there's not a lot new we can take from this press conference. He points to the same things we've been talking about for several weeks a long time now. IE: We were talking about Hill and Washington before camp started.

A few things did jump out at me.

You guys know how I look at QB's: by the numbers. Completion percentages and TD/INT ratio I harp upon. So, hearing no turnovers today was a nice surprise. BUT!

I think there's maybe three picks all camp when talking about seven on seven drills, team drills. I might be off on one probably.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty freakin' good with four through seven practices of camp.

And the completion percentage over the course of camp for all three has been in that range that we want -- like to have a minimum of 65% and they just done a good job being consistent.
Click to expand...

Uh. That's stands on its own: no comment needed. (Still, dayum. That's good decision making, folks.)

The comment on how it was just a few times where the timing was off? Aight.
 
rick4bama said:
If you look he was about to get a water under the podium, then someone ask him a question and he put it back. I was going to say he has a decaf coke?
Click to expand...
Saw him drink it after I made the comment. It's just one of those weird stories I followed a few years ago when they were in contract talks and the drinks disappeared from Saban's podium for a few weeks.
 
A guy I'd forgotten about until I saw his picture this morning: Steve Mboumoua. He was part of last years class. He's spent the last year at MSCC (playing) while getting his English credits in line or acceptance. I'm not expecting to see much of him this season. He's behind Keenan and Beamon.

His story has the makings of one of the better ones we've watched. If you recall, he's from Quebec. But, really put his "Bama fandom" out there in last years recruiting cycle.



Someone made a smart ass comment the other day about whether the reports we've posted about the teams conditioning ... look at him from several months ago.

Screenshot 2025-08-10 10.09.19 AM.png
 
Another little story that's nothing more than a side story.

First, let me say this. This player makes me wish Verne was still in the booth.

It's my opinion when you get into 5A and higher classifications in Alabama high school football you're playing with some dudes. While they aren't all D1 guys, there's some legitimate athletes on those fields.

So, when I see a guy that had 167 tackles in 14 games (11.9 tackles per game) his last year in high school it makes me think, "okay, he's a ball player." (For what it's worth, that ranked 104th in the nation in total tackles.) He was a three star kid: ESPN listed him #48 LB (nation) and the No. #50 overall in state. (Ramsey.)

Here's what I find funny. And, understand, I expect it to be as overblown as "he's only 17."

QB Reese has put some time this fall backup up Lawson. Officially, if we want to use that term, charts probably have him behind Jones. (If you can remember, Jones caught a little attention in the Wisconsin game last year with a handful of tackles: two solo as I recall.) Cayden played in 10-11 games last season, QB 'shirted. So, they've both been in the program the same amount of time. I'm getting I've gotten the impression he's pushing for that #2 spot. I'm looking forward to seeing him.

BUT ...

I equally looking forward to hearing a few of the announcers scramble with calling a guy "QB" when's he's making tackles as a linebacker.

Side note: FAST. If I recall this right, he qualified for state in shot put: upper body strength there, eh?
 



Oh, I didn't know about the opening statement.



Hey guys, Ty Simpson's our starter. How's that? Pretty good. Okay, let her ride. What do we got?

On why Ty Simpson is the starter

There we go. Good followup. Ty did a really nice job of taking care of the football. I think number one, I think Ty is an incredible playmaker on the move. And I think from there, guys like that, you just you worry, are they going to be able to train themselves to be able to take care of the football? And I just, even in the room in general, Ty led that charge. But Ty didn't throw any picks last week. He's thrown one all camp. We've thrown like four total this camp. And last spring I think at this time we had thrown like 15. So I think in general the guys are understanding the concepts and control the offense a lot better as a room, and Ty was the best at that. And so his ability to command and create out of the pocket I thought was the best. Make great decisions and he's just much cleaner on some of the things that you expect an older quarterback to be able to do.

On if quarterbacks, specifically Ty, are still pushing the ball downfield

Yeah, we are absolutely. Let's see, I don't know what today was, but we'd had six practices in a row where we hit our explosive number. So we certainly have been able to get the ball down the field, which is great because I think our defense does a good job of trying to limit those. So, which was a lot better. I don't know if we had five days of that all of spring. So, six in a row. I think we had eight out of ten practices. So, we're rolling a little bit.

On the message to Austin and Keelon when moving forward with Ty as the starter

Well, I think for those guys -- not I think, I know -- they have to continue to progress. I think that for quarterbacks in general, any position is tough, but the development of a quarterback to continue to move forward during a season I think is the toughest thing. Like, that's the thing -- you have to find ways to generate, coaching staff-wise, to create looks and opportunities that those guys don't just pause. Young quarterbacks are really talented, like Austin and Keelon, what you don't want is that the starter's named and all this improvement that they've been making to this point just comes to a screeching halt. So that part they totally understood. I know they're up to the task and I think there's a huge part of that that's just the relationships and the bond that's been built in that room. I told the guys I thought one of the things that stood out to me the most about that room was there never was this feeling of somebody conceding. There was never an approach by any of the three guys that it was like, "It's him or him." At the same time, it was all organic. Guys were able to focus on their job and just be the best quarterback they can be. And I think that they all developed because of the type of room that we have. So, tip of the cap to those guys. I don't think that's coaching. I think that's just the guys doing a really good job of focusing on themselves, and I think Austin and Keelon will be up to that.

On if a number two quarterback has been decided

No. Nope. We're still working through all that. Those guys will continue to rep. I think you'd be pigeon-holing yourself a little bit on reps and opportunity for both those guys to get better.

On the message to Ty after being named the starter

Just don't change anything. You know, we still got a lot of stuff to clean up. Remember what got you the job -- the things that you were challenged to improve on after spring and that you did do to this point in camp. Nothing has to change. So I think he's just got to keep improving on the things that he knows he has to work on. And this is just an announcement, it's a starting point. If you have any kind of finality to this announcement, whether you're the backup or the starter, I think you're going to rob yourself of some really good opportunities.

On the team's response to Ty being named starter

Supportive. I think the guys have been supportive of all three guys, but certainly Ty has shown the most leadership and command. So, I don't think anybody was caught off guard by that. I thought we did a good job as a coaching staff -- not trying to pat ourselves on the back -- but trying to let it play its course and make sure the team saw Ty earn it. I think that's important for Ty too, that he can come out there and his teammates know that he went and earned that spot. They've been great, offense and defense.

On Ty's leadership style

Ty's pretty fiery. He's a pretty fiery guy. I've really been impressed how he's been able to kind of calm that. I always thought I was wildly impressed in my time with Geno Smith. He's a fiery competitor as well, but I always told Ty, like, Geno's ability to get back to room temperature quickly and be able to process and be an elite quarterback was something that I was always just amazed by. And I told Ty, you know, that's what you got to be -- a guy that can have composure and realize there are different times to release it. You score a touchdown, you want to go crazy, go crazy, right? But up to then, you just got to be a smooth operator.

On Ty's biggest area of growth and remaining areas to improve

I would say poise and decision-making. I think that his eyes would drop and he would give up on stuff really, really quickly because he is so athletic and can move. And now I just feel like he's very poised back there. I think anytime you have a guy that can balance those two things -- be an explosive athlete out of the pocket but also know that he doesn't have to do it every time -- that's the thing you love to see out of a guy like Ty.

On Keelon Russell's growth under pressure

Coach Sheridan and Coach DeBoer did a phenomenal job recruiting Key, and I thought their assessment when I got here was spot on -- that he's a very composed player for a young player. Even when it's not perfect and things aren't going Key's way, I think he's able to just slow the game down. That's something that's somewhat innate. When you continue to build on the knowledge base and understanding the system, he'll just keep getting better. He's a really calm, excellent player with great vision.

On Ty's performance in the quick game

Today specifically, we had some sequencing stuff where we were lining up in second-and-extra-long or second-and-long and trying to get a first down with three downs, and quick game showed up in those scenarios and he hit every one of them. I was really impressed -- just his ability to get the ball out, make decisive decisions, have his eyes in the right spot. A lot of times quick game just comes down to that -- being decisive and making sure you're reading the right spot.

On Ty's leadership moving into first game

Just keep being him. Honestly, if he started acting out of character or doing things he hadn't done to this point, that would be a red flag for the team or the guys. I think he's established the type of person he is in the locker room. He's known these guys for a long time. Just keep being himself. My advice to him was just be authentic. As long as he does that, the locker room will know. They know when guys aren't authentic -- just stay in the wheelhouse.

On how Ty, the only QB not recruited by this staff, earned trust

Well, I think that's a great question. One of my main messages to Ty was that he did earn it. I thought he was a little bit careless with the football, and that was something I wanted to make sure -- as a decision maker with a good team and a great supporting cast -- he could distribute the ball. For him, calming the game down, slowing it down, and being authentic in the meeting room -- not trying to say things to impress a coach or say something to show he understood coverage -- but asking genuine questions. Being in the meeting room with him every day, I trust him in that regard, and I think that was a huge part of our growth.

On why yesterday was the right time to name a starter

He had shown enough through camp to be the dominant player in the room. I felt like it was the best thing for the team to move forward, get the guys going, and give some establishment to that position so the team could get behind them.

On common traits in successful starting QBs and how Ty fits

Decision-making and vision -- those are the two things. For Ty, he's got good vision and his decision-making has gone off the charts compared to what it was. If he keeps doing that and being himself, he'll be a really, really good quarterback.
 

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