
Carrick: Man Utd games vs Liverpool some of my favourites
Carrick highlights the significance of Man Utd vs Liverpool rivalry
Kirby Smart and Pete Golding reflect on their time with Nick Saban as Alabama's coaches. Meanwhile, 114 student athletes are set to graduate, including notable alumni like Mack Wilson.
Dec 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart and head coach Nick Saban (left) look on during the second quarter of the 2015 SEC Championship Game against the Florida Gators at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images
Happy Friday, everyone. Itâs graduation season, and 114 student athletes will be awarded degrees.
Three UA athletes were named College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans during their career as Emily Jones (womenâs swim) won the honor twice and Rachel Rybicki (gymnastics) and Tim Korstanje (menâs swim) earned the honor once
Korstanje earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship
Jones and Karly Weathers (womenâs basketball) was recognized this year for their athletic and academic achievements, earning SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors
Tarsis Orogot (menâs track and field) graduates as a Paris Olympian and a four-time Ugandan national record holder
2019 Cleveland Browns draft pick will earn his degree.
Kirby Smart and Pete Golding reminisced about their coaching experiences under Nick Saban, highlighting the impact of that era.
A total of 114 student athletes will be awarded degrees during this graduation season.
Emily Jones, Rachel Rybicki, and Tim Korstanje were recognized as Academic All-Americans, with Jones earning the honor twice.
Tarsis Orogot graduates as a Paris Olympian and a four-time Ugandan national record holder in track and field.

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Rachel Rybicki (gymnastics) was also named the 2025 Elite 90 winner Jonathan Griz (menâs golf) highlighted the UA golfers as the two-year captain made an appearance at the 2025 U.S. Amateur qualifier
Great to see Wilson return to school and graduate. Mack is playing out in Arizona now, starting at MLB for the Cardinals.
The baseball team walked off Vandy in the series opener last night. Those two will play afternoon games today and tomorrow. Same deal for softball, who beat South Carolina 3-2 yesterday.
Kirby Smart shared a little nostalgia for the peak of the Saban era on the golf course yesterday.
âI tell people all the time ⊠our best Alabama teams â Iâm going to go 2012, 13, 14, 15 â would beat the dog out of all these teams right now because they could practice different and they were deeper,â Smart said. âThe game has not changed that much from 2012 to 2025, but the roster has. And those teams would âClubber Langâ somebody. They would just physically beat you.
âAnd I look at our team now and Iâll go, âoh, man. Oh, God. We donât have the depth we had. Weâre not as good as we were.â ⊠And then we go out there and win the SEC. And Iâm like, âitâs just relative.â Itâs relative.â
Rule changes in college football in recent years â including the institution of the transfer portal and the âlook the other wayâ attitude regarding using massive NIL funds to attract recruits and transfers (which is technically against NCAA rules) â has led to even the best teams not having as much depth as they did a decade ago. You can no longer âstackâ five-star recruits on a roster the way Saban did in his 2010s Alabama heyday and Smart did a half-decade ago at Georgia.
Pete Golding also spoke about his time at Alabama.
If and when Nick Saban walks into the Ole Miss facility, Golding hopes his former boss sees some reminders of the dynasty.
âThe biggest thing that I took from him, the self-discipline piece of making kids do things that they really donât want to do on a consistent basis, and that way that develops for Saturday,â Golding said. âBut hopefully he sees a lot.â
Golding isnât trying to build Sabanâs dynasty 2.0, though. This is a different era of college football, and Golding is a different person.
âWeâve got music at practice and we didnât at âBama, so Iâm sure (Saban would) bitch about that first,â Golding said with a smile.
The broader strokes, however, Golding wants to be like his days at Alabama from 2018 to 2022. Things like competitive character. Discipline. Effort in practice.
âIâm sure heâll have plenty to correct me on,â Golding said.
Bruce Feldman and Ralph Russo report that optimism abounds in Tuscaloosa, mostly because of the defense.
Coaches are especially excited about the direction of the defense. The Tide have gotten bigger on that side of the ball, and weâre told it now looks more like what Alabama had been accustomed to under Saban, especially on the interior of the line. Last year, the starting lineup just wasnât bulky, ranking in the SECâs bottom four in height and weight. This season, coaches expect to rank in the upper half of the conference.
USC transfer Devan Thompkins (6-5, 300 pounds) turned heads in the spring, looking even better than some in Tuscaloosa were expecting. He brings physicality on a level the Tide have lacked at times over the past two seasons.
âHe really had a good spring,â DeBoer, whose new deal is worth a total of $87.5 million over seven years, told The Athletic this week. âHeâs very versatile. He can play inside and outside. He can get that push in the pocket with his strength but also has a little juice to come off the edge.â
Oregon transfer Terrance Green (6-5, 320) has been another big plus. The secondary is long and athletic and has five starters back.
If Thompkins is able to be that difference maker on the line that weâve been missing, the defense should be outstanding.
Last, it sounds like the five-to-play-five eligibility concept is going to happen.
At least that will take some of the ambiguity out of things.
Thatâs about it for now. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.