Happy Monday, everyone. The women’s basketball team didn’t have a game this weekend, but will play at Mizzou tonight on SEC Network at 6pm. The ladies will be looking to follow up their resounding victory over 6th-ranked Kentucky last week.
In transfer portal news, Alabama added a big body to the defensive line last night.
The 6-foot-4, 320-pound Bingley-Jones finished the 2025 season with 25 total tackles for the Bulldogs. He also notched a QB hurry and one pass breakup.
Bingley-Jones struggled with injuries early in his career, missing all but four games in 2024. He began his college career at North Carolina, before transferring to MSU ahead of the 2024 campaign.
He was a four-star recruit out of high school entering UNC. The 247Sports composite ranked him as the No. 20 defensive tackle in the 2020 recruiting class.
Bingley-Jones is big and experienced, and should fit in well as a rotational defensive lineman. Based on the current roster, he and Jeremiah Beaman would likely slot in at the nose while London Simmons and USC transfer Devan Thompkins are featured on the ends. Steve Mboumoua, Edric Hill, and Isaia Faga are still around for depth purposes. Freshman Nolan Wilson is set to arrive in the summer and based on tape he should push to get into the rotation as well.
As you’ve undoubtedly heard, Hollywood Smothers had a change of heart and has backed out of his commitment to Alabama in favor of Texas.
Alabama’s run game was a major problem in 2025. The Crimson Tide ran with a rotation of running backs, with Jam Miller leading the way, but none of the group looked inspiring.
Hill and Riley both saw time, showing positive flashes. However, neither of them looked like superstars at any point.
The run game problems placed a large amount of pressure on Ty Simpson and the Crimson Tide passing game. With Simpson off to the NFL and a new starter upcoming at quarterback, improving the rushing attack has to be a major point of emphasis.
A lot of folks seem to be mad online at the coaching staff for this, but nobody knows exactly what the conversation was while he was in town. He did enroll in classes at Alabama, but that’s not uncommon in recruiting, particularly with the semester starting. Who knows what kind of money Texas offered. In any case, several folks who cover the sport were incredulous at the fact that we now have flips in the portal season, just when you think the sport can’t get more absurd.
The funniest part is the online Texas fan-flexing over how much money they’re spending in the portal. “We spend outrageously because we haven’t had a national title in 20 years and desperately want one” is a strange thing to crow about. If Arch Manning doesn’t have a transcendent season in 2026 with the money they have spent around him, then he just ain’t it and Sark’s seat will be on fire for squandering A Manning.
Miami reportedly wanted Ty Simpson to transfer down there, and badly.
According to a source close to Simpson, Miami sent the Alabama quarterback an offer to be the highest-paid player in college football at $6.5 million. The Hurricanes’ official offer started at $4 million and quickly ballooned to $5 million within minutes before reaching the current offer.
Tennessee and Ole Miss, according to the source, offered Simpson $4 million.
In 2025, Simpson’s base salary at Alabama was $400,000, according to a source close to Simpson. It doubled to $800,000 with incentives.
Simpson seems to have his heart set on heading to the NFL, but that gives you some idea of how ridiculous the spending is in some corners. Certain schools seem to be openly flaunting their defiance to the agreed upon rules in the House settlement. It will be interesting to see how far the clearinghouse pushes things. Any third party NIL deal that they deem out of compliance counts against the $20.5M cap, which would then impact someone’s eligibility. Ross Dellenger has more.
How can a school remain under or even near the revenue-share cap of $20.5 million while paying a single player such a high salary?
While that answer is obvious to some — the use of third-party NIL marketing deals exempt from counting against the cap — there is now documented proof.
It comes in the form of a $3.5 million package offered to Sorsby through LSU’s multi-media rights partner, Playfly Sports Properties.
The 11-page document between Playfly and Sorsby, obtained by Yahoo Sports, is unsigned and is only a proposed service agreement, but it offers a fascinating window into the new world of college athlete compensation, where schools are using multi-media rights partners, marketing agencies, corporate sponsors and apparel brands to, perhaps legally, exceed the industry’s new quasi-salary cap.
Want to hear the best part? These MMR deals aren’t even guaranteed. Player agents are effectively advising them to sign onto an IOU.
In the email, Learfield says language in the interest letters are rooted in “reasonable efforts” to secure sponsorships for athletes. While letters may include a financial “target,” it’s not a guarantee, and the organization will not advance NIL dollars before deals are executed.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 12, 2026
The whole thing is a disgusting mess, and a few schools are exposing it. The major programs in Texas are particularly brazen, in part because their state AG told them all not to sign the enforcement memo. Should the clearinghouse actually deny any of these deals, more lawsuits will be on the horizon.
In more “exciting” news, Michigan has hired a new university president. Why is this relevant? Because the new guy has been a strong proponent of private equity investment in college athletics and the formation of a “super league.” You may recall that only Michigan and USC have stood in opposition of a $2.4 billion deal that the rest of the Big Ten has signed onto. That train just gained steam.
Last, Alabama fans have rightfully been concerned about the offensive line, but the returning pieces may be better than they’re given credit for.
“When he had opportunities, he took advantage of it,” Kapilovic said. “When you go back to like fall camp, and just some of the stuff he did against our defense was really impressive. And then we started getting him into some games and seeing him just show those flashes of a guy that we think he can be. And he earned the trust from that.”
Heading into the 2026 season, Sanders is one of the only returning offensive lineman with a lot of reps in SEC play besides right tackle Michael Carroll. Starting left tackle Kadyn Proctor and center Parker Brailsford declared for the NFL draft. Starting right guard Willkin Formby transferred to Texas A&M, and Alabama’s other players in the heavy rotation at guard including Jaeden Roberts, Geno VanDeMark and Kam Dewberry are all out of eligibility.
Sanders and Michael Carroll looked like dudes who should be able to play this season. Go back to last December, and Alabama fans were excited about the prospect of an offensive line anchored by Carroll, Jackson Lloyd, and Ty Haywood. Haywood flipped to Michigan at the eleventh hour but is now in the portal and visited this weekend. He may or may not end up at Alabama, but you can bet that multiple OL will be brought in. And yes, coaching matters. How the returning guys look on Saturdays will tell us plenty about Coach Kap, if he is still around.
Of course, after lamenting the fact that Indiana is winning with a bunch of upperclassmen in the trenches who trained at lower levels, Alabama fans were melting down over news that offers were handed out to upperclassmen from ULM and Cal Poly. Guess it’s like coaching searches where some folks are more worried about winning the press conference than football games.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
