Happy Thursday, everyone. We don’t know what happened to him, but Michael Carroll is officially listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game at Kentucky.
Alabama football is tracking to be without one of its starting offensive linemen for the Kentucky game.
Michael Carroll was listed as doubtful on Wednesday’s SEC availability report.
He started the first game against East Carolina at right guard. The former five-star recruit is the only player on the offensive line who started games for the Crimson Tide in 2025.
Meanwhile, running back AK Dear and defensive back Jireh Edwards are listed as questionable.
Needless to say, that is not ideal. Ole Miss transfer Ethan Fields was listed as Carroll’s backup at right guard on the initial depth chart released last week, but Mal Waldrep and William Sanders were rotating as co-starters on the left side. Ryan Grubb said that Sanders was dealing with an oblique injury that probably led to some of the explosiveness issues we saw out of him, so it will be interesting to see what the staff decides here. Alabama brought in a ton of o-line depth in the portal this offseason, and it is already being tested.
Will Stein has asked his home crowd to bring it on Saturday, and Kalen DeBoer fully expects that to happen.
DeBoer said handling crowd noise will be an emphasis this week, with communication needing to reach everyone in the offense, including players lined up outside.
“Just communicate, because we always talk communication. You heard me say it over and over again,” DeBoer said. “So communicating becomes a little more difficult. We need to communicate not just with them but also the guys on the outside at times.”
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb wants Alabama to work through those challenges before it reaches Lexington. That means making practice disruptive enough to force players to communicate clearly and operate under pressure.
“You got to push them on the mechanics at practice,” Grubb said. “Make it loud at practice. Make it disturbing, a lot of chaos. When you get to the game, it should almost feel easier than what you did at practice.”
DeBoer also expects Stein to reach deep into his bag on Saturday.
It was a game that didn’t require Stein to show off his full playbook. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer acknowledged the difficulty that creates, as the Crimson Tide preps to travel to Kentucky on Saturday.
“New staff in general, I’m familiar with coach Stein and his offense,” DeBoer said. “Different play-caller now obviously. But they defensively got one game, offensively got one game to look at, and it was a game that wasn’t contested for very long, so there’s going to be a lot of things that they’ve worked on that they’re going to hold. We would do the same. So there’s just that piece of it.”
Alabama had better be ready as it’s clear that Kentucky wants this one badly, just as FSU did last year.
The Tide will look to improve on last week’s mildly encouraging rushing performance, though it won’t be easy without Carroll.
This week, Tide’s running game gets an opportunity to take the next step against their first SEC opponent in Kentucky. The Wildcats may have finished just 5-7 last season, but the program believes it is in “win now” mode under new coach Will Stein.
He signed the 10th-best transfer haul and brought in 32 newcomers. Though it came against FCS Youngstown State, the Wildcats looked stout against the run, giving up just 59 yards and 2.1 per carry in a 45-13 beatdown.
The Wildcats won’t be the toughest run defense Alabama sees this year, but they represent a chance for DeBoer to show proof of concept as he looks to shed the “finesse” label his offense has garnered during his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa.
“Week 2 SEC game, that’s an interesting thing,” DeBoer said. “Can’t say I’ve played too many conference games this early in the year. Doesn’t matter, it’s on the schedule, we gotta be ready to go. And you rely on your base, base rules, base techniques, your base fundamentals, so that’s what we continue to teach and that’s where it starts for us with our guys.”
Terrance Green has had plenty to say this week as he was on the same Oregon team with Stein last season.
“We don’t take any opponent lightly,” Alabama defensive lineman Terrance Green said. “I know they brought in a lot of good guys in the portal as well. We’re taking them seriously, just like we’re taking any opponent. Like I said, it’s going to be a great game. We have to show up. I know they are going to show up. Like I said, we’re Alabama. Everybody wants to beat us when we step on the field. We’re definitely going to bring our game and I know they are going to bring theirs.”
Green also noted that he studied tape of Tim Keenan III to get an idea of what was being asked of him .
“He was a big body, but he was also a technician,” said Green, who played at Oregon last year. “When I transferred in, I saw some of the reps he had (on tape) and he was not getting moved. That’s something that I want to do, and I take pride in. Tim is definitely someone I look up to as somebody who holds the gap and holds the line well.”
Keenan was selected in the seventh round of the NFL draft in April, by the Los Angeles Rams. He was waived to make room for former All-Pro DT Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement after two years away from the sport. The Las Vegas Raiders subsequently added Keenan to their practice squad.
Thus far he has done a solid job.
Last, LSU backed down as expected and the SEC is no longer voting on kicking them out of the league.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says Wednesday’s federal court hearing was postponed after LSU President Wade Rousse sent a letter declaring the issues driving the conference’s legal fight “moot.”
In an email sent to SEC presidents and chancellors Wednesday afternoon and obtained by WAFB, Sankey said the court hearing in Alabama was continued “based on receipt of the attached letter.”
“The court will reset the hearing by separate order,” Sankey wrote. A new hearing date has not been announced.
Sankey also confirmed Thursday’s meeting of SEC presidents and chancellors will still take place, but said it will proceed “with a revised agenda.”
The Cajuns decided to push the limits of SEC self-governance, and for now the structure held. Whether everyone continues to play nice is yet to be seen.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
