Alabama Football's Positions to Watch Against Western Kentucky

[Music] this is the Joe Gaither show on Bama [Music] [Music] central.com good afternoon Tusa internet world West Alabama how we doing today on this Thursday this is the Joe Gaither show on Bama Central and BAC central.com thank you so much for checking us out on the Bama Central YouTube channel thanks for watching us on my own social media machines at Jo gther 6 on your favorite social media machine Facebook Twitter or YouTube or maybe you're listening to us on the Joe gther show on Bama Central on Spotify Apple podcast or Amazon we appreciate whatever way you're checking us out today as Alabama is two days away from kicking it off against Western Kentucky and so what we are going to do today is first get excited about the weekend ahead as week number one is right upon us Thursday you're going to see a lot of uh action tonight on your television Missouri in Arkansas your SEC action Arkansas taking on I believe Arkansas Pine Bluff and Missouri is taking on Murray State for your SEC action to get your Thursday going but we are going to talk about the positional rotations that you're going to be looking at on Saturday what you're going to be looking for on Saturday as a smart fan who you're going to be looking for to impress and kind of how you're going to be uh making your judgments on Saturday with a couple of position battles as it stands this weekend so we're going to talk about that we're going to replay an interview that we did on Tuesday with Jake McMahon from the W from the Western Kentucky Herold this is sport Department right there uh he's a student reporter so it was a shorter interview and there was it was focused obviously on the hill Toppers we'll play that and then we will talk about two little uh two we'll talk about some NCAA rules that got changed uh or are getting changed there's one that's getting proposed to be changed and one that has been changed uh talking about eligibility and talking about the transfer portal and then we'll wrap up talking about the last time that Kane wac played Western Kentucky so lots to get into as it's Western Kentucky week we invite you to jump in and join us on the social media machines giving us a like giving us a follow a comment you can leave your comment question query or complaint right there at the social media machines at Jo 6 Let's uh open up the show before we do it we'll tell you about our friend Derek Daniel you can call him at 20575 3391 Derek Daniel State Farm Insurance like a good neighbor Derek Daniel is there he's got great Representatives with red Reese and Victoria they'll be happy to talk to you about your home life on auto insurance needs uh you need to make sure that your auto insurance is up to date you need to make sure that you're properly covered uh in especially right here in Tuscaloosa with all these uh different drivers from different parts of the country coming together it sometimes makes it tough on the road so make sure you are properly covered call Derek Daniel and state farmed today at 20575 3391 1 you can visit him if you want to at 4604 Highway 69 North in Northport Alabama 35473 just about a mile off of McFarland Boulevard right here in Northport right close to my house uh you go right off McFarland Boulevard it's right past the tiger rock on your left give him a call at 20575 3391 or visit him online at Agent Derek daniel.com we appreciate Derek for sponsoring the program what are we going to do today we are going to talk about positions to watch in Bryant Denny Stadium on Saturday and we're going to piee together what we have heard we spent Monday in the nailstone media room hearing from offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan defensive coordinator Kane wmac and head coach uh kayin dor and Tuesday we got to spend some time in the facilities hanging out with the offensive and defensive captains and a couple of Specialists we heard from nean hibit we heard he from James bnab we heard from Malachi Moore and Deontay Lawson we heard from Tyler Booker and jayen milro all those can be seen on the Bama Central YouTube channel and then yesterday Wednesday we were back in the facility and we heard from several assistant coaches we heard from tit end coach Brian Ellis we heard for the first time from Special Teams coordinator Josh uh for special teams coordinator uh Jay Nunes excuse me Jay Nunes and then we have heard from mool linguis the secondary defensive backs coach we we heard from Chris kilic offensive line coach and we heard from Jamara Shepard wide receivers coach as well so four or five different different coaches you can see some clips from that right there on the Bama Central YouTube channel but what that has done is set up the week Kaylin dbor also had hey coach yesterday you heard that on the Crimson Tide Sports Network and you can see that on the various Avenues hey coach on Wednesday nights this year not on Thursday nights uh this season and so we have basically completed the media cycle for the week we're not going to hear from the team again until the clock hits zeros on Saturday night in Brian Denny Stadium and so what do we know what are we ready for this week basically you've gone through the 2025 practices in Fall cam everybody knows Jaylen milose is your starting quarterback you know that you've got one of the best running back rooms in the country with Jam Miller and Justice Haynes and Richard young you know that jam Miller overcome overcoming a small little knock in Fall Camp so you'll probably see Justice Hing starting the game everybody's excited about Jeremy Bernard and everybody's excited about Ryan Williams how much will Ryan Williams play on Saturday night really we're going to talk about several positions and what coach kayin dor and what really Ken wack and and Jamarcus shefford have let on we're going to talk about right tackle wide receiver defensive back and kicker because we heard from Jane Nunes for the first time all right let's start with wide receiver because that that seems like uh that seems like a decent place to start wide receiver uh everybody wants to see see what Ryan Williams will do on Saturday night in Brian Denny Stadium and we heard from Demarcus Shepard yesterday our friend Katie wendam bam central.com ask Demarcus Shepard if uh Saturday will be more of an opportunity to trim down the rotation or if players if there will be kind of a fre forall if there'll be a nice and uh if there'll be a strong rotation and remember that's kind of one thing that I asked uh that I asked kayin toor at SEC media days will Alabama use its depth uh use its kind of okay we've been recruiting at a high level uh get guys onto the field outrun defenses overrun defenses uh and really Jamarcus Shepard played Koy it's very interesting you're getting a very Coy response from the position coaches very often uh now that we've gotten into a little bit of Rhythm here with the assistant coaches and with the head coaches they're doing a good job giving stuff talking about their players without giving away schematics uh they do a lot of deferring to kayin abore Jamarcus Shepard yesterday saying oh I don't know who's gonna play tomorrow I don't know who's gonna play excuse me Saturday uh and Coach come on you know who's gonna play you know some of the players that are gonna play we obviously know jery Bernard uh jery Bernard and Kendrick law are going to get a lot of action as your ones we know pron is going to be sitting right there when you go three wide and is going to get a lot of uh opportunities himself you know Emanuel Henderson's right there we know Ryan Williams is right there coach kayin dor responding to the same question on the SEC coach's teleconference coach what the wide receiver rotation G to look like and he was not as Koy he said I think that we're GNA play five to seven wide receivers I'm not keeping count he said I wouldn't put a number on it but I feel good about five to seven so we're just naming them right there we already hit Jeremy Bernard is one we H Kendrick law is two we hit Kobe Prince is three Emanuel Henderson is four Ryan Williams is five Cole Cole Adams is six here we go where we need to find three more who are you looking for you're looking for I'm missing Rico Scott will he get some action has he recovered from what seems like he got a concussion in one of his uh earlier fall practices will it be Caleb Odum uh there's somebody obvious that I'm missing why don't you pull up the depth chart Joe so so that you don't look like a fool uh Bama Central Bama Central depth chart because I have done the depth chart two or three different times Central depth chart yeah perfect right there right there that's what I wanted don't you don't you love it when the Google machine works okay so Jerry Bernard won uh Jer Bernard one Kendrick law two Kobe prince three Emanuel Henderson four Cole Adams five Ryan Williams 6 uh we got who you got left okay uh Omari Jefferson Cole Adams uh excuse me Caleb odm is is uh seven and eight and then I guess it's Rico Scott is nine because I'm looking at our sheet here the only other wide receiver is jiren Hamilton uh so it looks like every wide receiver that we have uh list as a scholarship player is in uh is in kayin abor's rotation he said five to seven so you basically sitting there without uh Amari and Rico Scott you're going to see a lot of guys on Saturday in Brian D stadium and that's something I'm very very excited about uh because I think that it's something it's an area that coach Sten struggled with Coach stabin was very I mean obviously success speaks for itself but an area that I thought he could have done better with is getting more players on the field I think we've talked about it before how much it bit Alabama in the 2021 uh at in the end of the 2021 season when you lost John meie and you lost Jameson Williams obviously you had great wide receivers that year starting uh but behind it you really struggled to develop any wide receivers after that and those two guys got hurt at the worst times of the season and you struggled to move the ball through the air after that uh and I think he could have done a better job and I think that's just one area one time where coach Sabin uh you got to get more players on the field you're recruiting at a high level these guys are very very talented the transfer portal is uh uh is sitting over there looming over your program you got to get some of these guys onto the field uh and give them opportunities to make plays one thing that Jamarcus Shepard did say while he said oh I don't know who's gonna play he said that we're gonna give guys opportunities to make plays and if you make plays you stay out there and we let you keep going uh if you don't make plays and he did this yanking motion for anybody who's listening and not watching he said you're going to be sitting here watching with me and you're going to see this motion and you're going to know that come over and watch with me so I think that you're going to see guys uh not necessarily a hot hand approach but I think you're going to see a heavy rotation on Saturday night uh Brian in Brian Den Stadium at the wide receiver position obviously jery Berard Kendrick law and Kobe Prince will get the line share of the work but I think that you're GNA see a lot of Ryan Williams and Kobe Prince a lot of Cole Adams a lot of Emanuel Henderson sitting there backing them up giving them a chance to giving those guys a chance to make plays and seeing what they can do we also have talked a lot about the offensive line obviously the offseason Focus was on Center can Alabama find a center who can consistently snap the ball to Jaylen milro I think those concerns have been put to bed going into week number one with Parker braford all the attention on the offensive line goes to the right tackle at this point how much will we see wilin forby how much will you see Elijah Britch it who's going to get the start I think it's been pretty obvious right now through fall camp that Conformity is in line to get the start uh how much will he play will we play one series will it go series for series he he and Elijah pre it or will it be two series to one two to one ratio what will be the rotation at right tackle uh it's been pretty consistent during the media viewing periods that wi con for be is the right the starting right tackle but I remind you we are only seeing that 20 25 minutes or so uh during practice of eight of the 20 or so practices okay and so we leave how much is Elijah pritet getting run with the starting right tackle it's going to be interesting to see how much what the rotation looks like in Brian Dy Stadium on Saturday uh as coach has been pretty vocal that okay while there has been competition we're going to take this competition into live action uh on Saturday again against uh against a real opponent uh it's going to be interesting to see how wilin holds up I think wilin is going to be uh I think obviously he knows what his assignment is and I think that he is physically capable the difference is I think that Elijah pitet might be more physically capable might be more explosive uh but just might have a more a bit of an inconsistent motor uh and might need a little bit more handholding as far as schematics goes and recognition goes of the opposing defenses and so it's going to be interesting to see how Alabama chooses to balance the two I don't think you're going to to hold wilkin's hand as much as far as recognition goes but uh he's going to have to work it seems like just a little bit harder to get the results that Elijah pritchet gets and so it's going to be interesting to me to see how that rotation goes on Saturday so you got wide receiver you got right tackle really the only other issue or position group that you're going to be looking for on Saturday as far as rotations goes competition goes is cornerback cornerback we heard from mooling yesterday and we've heard from Kane wac about experience and experience being a finite thing that you're going to have to give guys opportunities to get those exper to get experience and so I think that you're going to see a lot of Corners playing on Saturday I think obviously dman Jackson You're slotting him in there as a corner pretty much consistently whenever whenever the defense is out there demman is gonna be playing but next to deanii or opposite excuse me the opposite of deanii you should probably expect to see they Jones right off the bat the transfer from Lake Forest and I think that he has had a fine Camp a good camp I think that he has uh earned the trust of the defensive room of of his teammates but I think the real excitement is behind him in these freshmen we've talked about him all summer long but I think that zaven brown is gon to be quick Off the Bench getting a lot of run uh right behind right behind deshan Jones I think desan Jones gonna have to really play well and really uh stand out to keep Daven Brown off the field and I think that you're going to see a good bit of z z meny as well we walked past Z meny in the facility yesterday I believe it was uh and he's just laid out on the field and just such a long cor he's huge as a cornerback six fo2 six fo three and that is you know often time they exaggerate they exaggerate the Heights and the weights on roll tide.com and and they do it for every college but uh he is not exaggerating he's a full full on 62 63 playing def playing cornerback and I I'm I'm really excited about seeing him on the field I think that you're going to see a lot of defensive backs on the field on Saturday just to see what guys have just to see what guys can do and I think that I mean it's going to tie into something we'll talk about later on in the show with in some NCAA rule changes but I think some of these freshmen are going to get action right off the bat uh you'll see desan Jones but I think you'll see zaban brown and Z miny as well the other position that I think you're going to be wanting to pay real close attention to is the kicker position now you're not not not it's not really going to be a huge problem or it's not really going to be uh life on the line it's not going to be a real big issue this weekend against Western Kentucky be because obviously Alabama War of Attrition by the end of the night on Saturday Alabama's GNA win the game you we can talk about the gambling odds and gambling line that 31 and a half all you want we talked about that on the previous show and we'll talk about it again uh in the few before the week's over but Alabama's going to win the game look we're not going to be sitting here trying to sell you a bill of goods that oh my gosh if Alabama doesn't play well they're going to lose now if Alabama doesn't play well they're going to win by 10 they're goingon to win by 14 they're by 21 it's not g to be a blowout like the the uh the folks in Vegas have said right alama's gonna win the game the biggest thing for Alabama are you're going to be looking inside the game at these little things at these position groups that already highlighted but I think the kicker is going to be an area for Alabama that while you haven't really thought about it this that much this off season because hello you went out to the transfer portal and you got the 2023 lug Rosa Award winner I mean this guy beat out will rert for the lug grosa award and and nobody was better than will rer last season but this guy beat him out do I have confidence in Graham Nicholson no but do I have am I worried about him no I'm not I'm neither confident nor worried about him I'm walking into the season uh with a blank slate for gram Nicholson do I expect him to perform well yes I do I think that he's going to perform well this season but I do want to leave room for doubt leave room for doubt that Alabama might you know look you take will rers once in a lifetime flare uh he he came in here and obviously the fifth year helped him out but came in here and broke the NC alltime leading alltime leading scoring record he leaves as number one all time obviously the fifth year does help him out but he was highly consistent you remember what I think it was a sophomore year he doesn't miss a single kick his entire season right he was highly consistent I think he's very gonna be T very taken for granted and so Graham Nicholson what's the grace level are you going to give him does he miss in Brian Indy Stadium this weekend and does it matter because Alabama's still winning 49 to4 it doesn't matter oh it could have been 52 to4 right oh if he have made that 49 y What's it gonna be what what's his capability going to be on the bigger stage will he be able to kick a longer longer field goal obviously the longer you get the more inconsistent we're going to get to know greev Nicholson as the season goes along uh it's going to be interesting to see look you you look back at Miami of Ohio their capacity uh 30,000 people uh for Miami of Ohio home games for at capacity uh obviously that's just a fraction of what it'll be in Brian Stadium what you can fit what 30,000 60 90 a little right at 100,000 so more than three times right is that my math I'm not a math major the crowd's gonna be a little bit bigger on Saturday uh Jay Nunes talking yesterday that they have kicked in Bryant in stadium over 20 times during the uh during the practice period during the off seon so obviously getting their sight lines correct but it's going to be a little bit different atmosphere this weekend I think it's going to be very important now uh for him to have success early in Brian deny Stadium now you look through his career and he's perfect in power five stadiums he's kicked at Miami he's kicked I believe at Indiana uh and somewhere else I I couldn't remember the the oh Minnesota at Minnesota right uh and he's made like uh four or five of his field goal attempts he hasn't missed a kick in a power five stadium so we'll see how he does but uh those are the position groups that I'm going to be really having my eye on uh obviously I will enjoy watching the defensive line I we enjoy watching the linebackers I think that they're going to be a lot of fun getting after some people on on Saturday I'm going to really really enjoy the runningbacks I think they're gonna have you're gonna have a lot of fun uh watching them kind of show off what they can do on Saturday I think it's going to be an offensive explosion on Saturday we'll get into that a little bit more uh in the next little bit of the show what we're going to do next is turn it over we're going to replay our our interview from uh from Tuesday we did this on our live streams we did not put this up on Bama Central's YouTube channel yet or on the podcast platforms we did this on our live streams I didn't really feel good about it because I wanted to be I wanted it to be longer I wanted it to be more in-depth about Western Kentucky but we had Jack McMahon on uh student reporter from Western Kentucky uh Western Kentucky Sports Herold Western Kentucky Harold excuse me uh the Sports Department of from the Western Kentucky heral joined us on Tuesday to talk about the hill Toppers talk about the game on Saturday so here's just a little uh little look at at the hill Toppers and we'll come back we'll talk about the last time that uh the last time that K wmac played South play played Western Kentucky when he was head coach at South Alabama it did not go well for him uh then we'll finish up with some NCAA rule changes and get out of here for the day so let's get right into it we'll have a lot of fun Alabama's kicking it off in 4 days and so let's get a lot smarter on Alabama's opponent with Jake McMahon you can follow him on X at Jake McMahon 7576 or check out all of their work all of his work covering the hill Toppers at WKU haral on the Twitter machine Jake what's going on man how are you doing today sir I'm doing great how are you doing oh very very good we had a a good morning over at the Alabama facility we heard from four or five different Alabama players actually six we heard from the four captains and a couple Specialists today so everybody's getting excited about game week I think this will be basically the last media opportunity for us for the week we're excited about game week how about you guys yeah yeah I mean we're we're really excited here I think uh you know going down there and playing Bama especially being the board's first game is is something that's uh really exciting a lot of students including myself so yeah yeah really really cannot wait for for sday let's get to know you just real quick Jake you're you're covering uh Western Kentucky what year are you and how long have you been following the football team for WKU Harold Sports so I'm a junior um and last year my sophomore year I was the football beat reporter for the uh the website and this year I'm taking over the editing position so I'm still doing a bit of writing for for the uh for the football team but but not as much as I I have been but you know still still covering them quite a bit so all right so you are a Tyson you are a Tyson hton expert if there ever is one we appreciate you jumping on and joining us what's the uh what's the buzz around Western Kentucky because we see TJ Finley uh being named starting quarterback and we we're familiar with him from an Alabama standpoint you see a lot of weapons on the outside you obviously see good numbers Tyson hton winning eight games or more basically every year yeah every year in his 10 year this is year number six we've going to bowl games what's the buzzer on Western Kentucky going into 2024 I think it's just a lot of the sort of same old kind of thing you know this is a a team that throws the ball a lot and scores a lot of points and I fully expect that this year I know we've had bayy zappy and Austin Reed in the past who you know I know zappy just got released by the Patriots today but he had some success in the NFL and and Reed is is with the Bears organization right now um and and I I I truly think the it's going to be the same with with TJ Finley you know I think he's got one of the best arms in college football um and you know he was I think 17th in yards last year at Texas State and would say he's coming in and this season playing not as good composition as he did last year with Texas state so I think I think there's a lot of Buzz around there obviously maybe a little bit of a worry with the new face there and also the loss of uh Malachai Corley who was a I believe a third round pick by the Jets this past year who was maybe one of the best weapons Western scene in programs history um but you know I think it's it's it's a pretty exciting year uh kenesa State joins the conference this year um so I think there there's a lot of a lot of excitement a lot of buz down here all right so I'm looking at the Western KY schedule and obviously the big monster game was against Alabama right there off the off the bat and that's going to probably be a bit challenging to win but the rest of the 11 other 11 games all look you know fairly winnable for Western Kentucky what's gonna what's the expectation for Tyson hton and the hill Toppers I you know I'm not 100% sure what my my full expectation is I think last year going into the year it was a conference Championship or bus and you know the eight wins and a really good bowl game win in um it was a really good end but they didn't even make the conference Championship Game you know Liberty in New Mexico State who who took those spots and now I think it's I think the expectation may be dropped to a a CA Championship Game appearance because I'll be honest I'm not sure how Western against Liberty I mean it's this this is Liberty's conference now you know uh and and it'll continue to be so I think the expectations are you know to to almost run the conference schedule with with a loss against Liberty um and if you do look at that that schedule I I you know I I want to pull it up here but like after the the first part of conference play are all winnable games but I I believe the last four games uh it's it's uh let me see here New Mexico State Louisiana Tech Liberty and Jacksonville State and you know those are three three of those four games Western lost last year they lost to Liberty they lost to Jacksonville State and I believe then they lost to New Mexico State I do believe and then they they almost lost to Louisiana Tech th those last four are pivotal you know they should they should win their first half of conference play get into those last four if you can go three or four in those I think I think you're setting yourself up for a really good year and and and probably a conference Championship Game birth all right so we're watching get ready for the Alabama Western Kentucky game it's going to be at six o'clock in Bryon stadium and you can read Jake McMahon's coverage at from the Western Kentucky Herold Sports CER you're gonna be in Bri Den Stadium uh what is your expectation coming down to Tuscaloosa I mean for one I'm like I'm ecstatic you know it's it's a buckless item to cross off all the the 100 seeders Brian Denny is an 100,000 seeder right uh and you know we I knocked off Ohio State last year Western played there and and next year they play at LSU so I'm getting some really some bucketless games um in my time here but you know I think the main thing that I want to see uh with Western is is just the quarterback play you know they announced CJ Finley as a starter yesterday but there's also a thing that uh Kaden velcamp the backup is is is expected to play or there's a good chance that he will play um so I'm really kind of just curious to see how much playing time Vel Camp will get um coming from the From the Bench uh and I think just seeing if it's ofin still has that sort of dynamic ability without an Austin Reed Without A Malachi Corley I think is is really my my my my main interest all right let's talk about these receivers because you go to the transfer portal you get Kean Johnson and then you you have two receivers who performed pretty well last season I I wrote them out I wrote them out where was my notes there okay you have you have two receivers that performed well last year in uh east east Messer and dvin Smith they both ended up having 40 50 catch Seasons what's what's what are they going to present to or how are they gonna help TJ Finley attack the Alabama secondary uh you know I mean I think it's it's they're they're all really solid receivers and they all you know they've been here except for the transfer they they you know um Smith and M they they know what the assignment is it's just a a lot of passing Ys a lot of passing game um and I expect to see a lot of passing on Saturday um you know and it's it's not not I I I don't expect them to be a Malachi Cy like they had last year but you know I do expect just some some some deep Ball Deep threat uh kind of plays and and really some Dynamic play from the receivers all right uh TJ Finley played Alabama when he was with Excuse me played uh against South Alabama when he was with Texas State uh last season so that was Kane wack Alabama's defensive coordinator and TJ Finley and Texas State put up what 52 points against Kane wmx defense uh you look back to 2020 as well the 2022 season Western Kentucky beat South Alabama 44-23 in the Caesar super doome the New Orleans uh the New Orleans Bowl uh what what do you think uh has been the key for Western Kentucky I mean at least in that balll game to to going up against this Kane WM might defense Alabama's biggest question mark right now is the defense how uh how will they be able to utilize maybe a game plan or or or or something something that uh Tyson hson hton does to get after the Kane Walmart defense you know in that that South Alabama game I was actually the first game I I football game I covered here at Western so I'm going to try to do my best to remember but I do remember just like just an air attack early in that game and I imagine looking at the score and I believe I mean I'm looking at Finley's stats from from that South Alabama game he had 368 yards and you know I imagine that was exactly the same way against South Alabama for him so you know and that's really just Western's game it it has been since I've been here and it has been since helton's been here is just Air Attack Air Attack Air Attack and you know I think I I guess it's worked for for teams against for against against his defense based on those two games um and I would just expect to see more the same that if you watch the tape from from either of those games all right and so I'm looking at last year's game against Ohio State in seon 63-10 uh yesterday on my little program here right here the Jo G through show on B Central I'm talking about the 31 and a half Point kind of what the spread's look like trying to predict this game and I'm trying to put all these pieces together Jake what do you think the game is going to look like and then I'll tell you what I said and then uh we can kind of go back and forth on that well it is a little bit of funny story um so I went to cover that game in Ohio State and I did a little game preview and I was getting a little cocky with my coverage I'll be honest and I I put a little what I expect in the preview and I think Ohio State was9 Point favorite against Western I think around that around that thing and I said look because I I watched both Ohio St my my dad's from Columbus so I I I I follow the team pretty regularly and they had not played very well and I said Western's going to leave this game with no more than a three three-core loss 63 to 10 so you know I'm a little cautious with with uh my coverage here um but you know I so it's is it 31 you said 31 and a half yeah I mean this is what I saw from Western last year against Ohio State and I do I I expect it to be somewhat of the same is Western was in that game if you go back and watch it in Midway through the second quarter and then uh coach hton he went for it on fourth down inside his own 30 inside his own 40 route there and that's when the game completely turned around and you know he blamed himself on that I expect Western to compete especially early you know I I don't know what you're feeling on on your side but first game with the DOR with dor I mean there there there's got to be you know that adds to the to week one anti you know an anxiety um but again I I I I I see just another sort of second half blowout kind of thing that we saw last year and I mean if Western can keep this I think Within like the 28 to 30 point range and they have a good game from Finley or from Vel Camp whoever we see more of it should be Finley um you know and it I think there's a new linebacker coach here and if they're able to contain milro in the ground wise and kind of do that and I think that would be a success for Western and that's kind of what I'm I'm hoping to see I would say all right well I went 5923 because I think that Alabama's defense is going to give up some points to the Western Kentucky passing game but I'm walk looking at that 6310 I'm thinking okay well Ohio state held them down but Alabama is integrating a new a new defensive scheme the talent is still really really high and the talent is still going to be really good something about Tyson hton he's made it very easy on his quarterbacks uh I'm a Bears fan so I've been enjoying Austin Reed but but but it's I I think that there's going to be uh some chances for some big plays for Western Kentucky but on the whole throughout the entire game I don't think there's going to be you know any real chance for Western Kentucky to keep up through the entire game so I still like Alabama minus the points but I just wanted to know if you thought really the big play kind of that passing game is going to be uh able to take advant able to get the ball out quickly because I think Alabama's going to be able to get pressure so I just wanted to kind of get your thoughts on the Western Kentucky offense getting the ball out quickly and okay maybe breaking a tackle and okay off off races uh I don't know about a consistent offense but but what's your thoughts on uh being able to get the ball out quickly and kind of being able to generate some big plays sure yeah I mean those big Play Chances Are what you're going to see a lot of I'm sure because if you're a group of five team going out to Alabama I mean that's what you're GNA have to execute on to to have any sort of chance of winning obviously and you know I think it's gonna there's going to be a lot of shots I think there's gonna be a lot of shots downfield um you know I think Western is sort of a one one depth offense and has been for a minute so it's going to be hard to open up the playf action game for the team but you know I think there's going to be quite a few deep shots I'm I'm I'm curious personally to see like who Finley's go-to guy is going to be um just because there's no more Corley and I know I keep bringing up his name but he was just that electric for this offense um but you know I'm sure we'll see quite a few shots taken and and I'm I'm I'm sort of excited to see if they're able to execute against Bama's new new defense all right well he's Jake mcmah and he writes for WKU Herold Sports Jake I appreciate your time man we'll see him in stadium awesome thank you so much yes sir this all right all right welcome back that was our time with Jack McMahon from the Western Kentucky Sports Herold and we appreciate him joining us uh giving us a little look at the hill Toppers before we continue the program though I want to tell you about my friends at purple turtle Roofing they're the most reliable residential roof placement company in Alabama and Mississippi whether it's addressing leaks storm damage or general wear and tear purple total Roofing is going to be 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show with two topics we're going to talk about out uh two NCAA rules that are on the horizon one that has passed and one that has been been proposed uh we're going to talk about Kane wac and his 2022 game against uh Western Kentucky when he was at South Alabama so let's talk about let's keep on the football side before we get into rules let's talk about Kane wmac let's take you back to what is this December uh December of 2022 right uh the end of the 2022 regular season December 21st 2022 Western Kentucky against South Alabama Kane wac your Alabama defensive coordinator then head coach of South Alabama against Western Kentucky Tyson hton the current head coach of Western Kentucky then the Western Kentucky head coach uh taking on oh my gosh the South Alabama Jaguars in the rnl carriers New Orleans Bowl so if you haven't looked at this yet I don't blame you you're not as deep in the weeds as I am and that is a okay but Tyson hton took our boy Kane wack to the Woodshed winning 44-23 on the back of Austin Reed now Austin Reed is not there anymore all obiously Austin Reed is with my Chicago Bears uh quarterback he is he was cut and was picked back up on the practice squad so he was undrafted free agent last spring out of Western Kentucky picked up by the Bears went through went through Camp Cut and is now on the Bears practice squad good little good little fall camp for him but not good enough to uh make the big boy roster but he was a good college quarterback really good college quarterback especially for Tyson hton in Western Kentucky passing for over 4,000 yards uh transferring in from what West Florida I believe but in this particular night the rnl Carrier Dome the rnl carrier carriers New Orleans Bowl down there uh down there in the super doome the Mercedes Super Dome where the Saints play he put up 497 yards passing against Kane WX 425 swarm defense 497 yards four touchdowns and one interception he was 36 of 55 I mean these guys they chunked it up now they all o had a receiver on a trick play go one for one 25 yards on a touchdown they were they were getting after it the Western Kentucky Hill Toppers now obviously this was a bowl game so you leave everything on the table it was um not pretty for the South Alabama Jaguars uh they took the loss that night they finished the year 10 and three obviously they would have liked to have gone 11 and two but they finished 10 and three so still a good season and Western Kentucky gets the win finishing the year n and5 but really just an ugly night for for for the South Alabama defense giv up 677 total yards uh Western Kentucky was six of 13 on uh on third down they had 30 total first downs uh they went uh 9.3 yards per pass they had 155 yards on the ground so they're getting after it on the ground picking and choosing when they would go to the ground game six yards per Rush uh only seven touch only seven penalty excuse me for for Western Kentucky that night uh for 70 yards well South Alabama played disciplined that night three penalties for them uh but South Alabama's two turnovers to Western kuy's won and it just was not a pretty pretty night uh Western Kentucky got up to what a 24o lead is that what that is is that what that math is they were up 140 and then they went 17 more points so that's 21 uh that's 21 and 10 31 to3 they were up 31 to three at halftime and just really put it all on them in the first half uh finishing the finishing the game at 13 uh 13 to 20 they lost the second half 13 to 20 but they were up so big that they just Cru to Victory Austin Reed just having himself a night and so what does it mean how can you take anything from it it was two years ago it was what 20 months ago 20 months ago uh over two years almost two years ago now uh on the calendar obviously Austin Reed is in the NFL as we noted uh they've got a new quarterback in TJ Finley the offensive coordinator has kind of moved on a little bit from that point they still got Tyson hton uh the only other re only receiver in that game for Western Kentucky that did any damage was Dalvin Smith and dvin Smith is playing in this game on Saturday for Western Kentucky he had six catches for 145 yards and a touchdown against South Alabama but their main receiver we just heard about him from Jake McMahon Malachi Corley had 11 receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns in that bowl game he's moved on he's with the Jets now so like a lot of the Personnel is different none of the running backs that were in in in that game are going to be involved in in Saturday night's game against uh against Alabama it's just a little bit of a schematic feel Austin Reed was able to get down the field really really really uh really efficiently now obviously the athletes are much different we got to keep that in perspective Alabama's not rolling out there and no disrespect to the Jaguars but it's not rolling out there with the Jaguars athletes uh the athletes you know Western Kentucky got down the field pretty efficiently Austin Reed uh pushed the ball down the field pretty well it was a a nice little mixup of quick screens and quick passes uh and they kept them off ballots with the running game the the obviously the focus was the passing game with 50 something yard 50 something passes for Austin Reed and so they got after the 425 do I expect Alabama to give up 44 points uh on Saturday in BR new stadium no I don't but what I do expect it goes back to what Monday's conversation where we uh kind of danced around the over under what I do expect is there to there will be plays that get made against the Alabama defense take us back to the very first segment we're talking about defensive backs I think you will see while I do like zaven brown and z uh Z meny I think you will see some of these cornerbacks give up a play or two I like Devonte Smith I like red Morgan playing the Husky uh but I do think you'll see some of these defensive backs there will be a play or two that gets made vertically down the field on these guys will TJ Finley be able to take advantage of it I take you back to last year 2023 against uh Texas state right this is uh Texas State November 25th 2023 so almost uh what is that almost 12 minus three yeah like nine months ago eight months ago against South Alabama TJ Finley goes 368 yards in a 52- 44 victory over South Alabama and they got off to a 24 to nothing start so two instances Kan wack plays against two characters two kind of elements that are going to be colliding in this game on Saturday uh TJ Finley now in the uh Tyson hton offense and both instances South South Alabama ended up on the wrong end of the eightball in the very beginning of the game going to major major holes right off the bat uh I wasn't able to find really the entire game for Texas State vers South Alabama just the highlights and TJ Finley was getting after it in the passing game uh didn't wasn't able to tell really in just the three or four five highlights how the game went if they were able to uh go vertically down the field and utilize quick passes and quick screens like Western Kentucky was able to in the New Orleans Bowl the year prior but it's going to be something that Alabama's going to have to watch out for on Saturday do I think that it means that Alabama loses absolutely not not a chance zero chance sir but I do think that there are will be plays to be made it does play into my by feeling that the over is going to be the play I think that Alabama's offense is going to be electric I think that you if you're an Alabama fan watching the game you're going to sit back and think wow the offense hasn't looked that good since Steve sarkeesian was calling it in 2020 now it's going to look different from that Steve sarkeesian offense obviously with Matt Jones playing quarterback but you're going to sit back at the end of the night if you're still awake uh if you're still Juiced up I would have that be 9 9:30 10:00 or so when when the clock hits zero uh you're gonna sit back and think oh this offense could be something and it can be something I think this offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch the problems you're gonna be reflecting on and you're gonna think oh Alabama gave up some plays defensively and I think the Western Kentucky with TJ Finley his experience playing college quarterback obviously his days at LSU and Auburn are well documented kind of well got off the radar at Texas State but had a good year last year at Texas State I think you combined his experience with Tyson Hilton's offense and Tyson helton's creativity I think they're gonna find some plays on Saturday night will it be enough to scare it no but it will be enough to probably if you're an Alabama fan annoy you absolutely you'll probably walk away thinking oh man this that and the other offense in the SEC is going to hang 50 on us and I don't think that's going to be the case but I do think there will be some plays that get made on this Alabama defense now subsequently you still you put on the tape you got to be honest about it Joe uh South Alabama did make a lot of negative plays on the Western Kentucky offense there was a lot of tackles for a loss there was a lot of quarterback pressure on Austin Reed but it was kind of feast or famine when South Alabama wasn't making a play defensively Austin Reed was doing the feasting and then vice versa uh so I think you're GNA see a lot of that this year for Alabama's defense I think Alabama's defense is going to make a lot of negative plays on Saturday and you're going to get fired up about wow that tackle for loss wow they got it in there for a sack that tip ball uh that interception I think there's going to be a lot of I think there's G to be a lot of turnovers in this defense because a lot of the uh the eyes will be on the quarterback and so it's going to be a lot of fun on Saturday but I do look at the South Alabama and Western Kentucky game look it's a bowl game you you're rolling out some trick plays I think that Western KY is going to roll into Saturday night in BR Stadium the same sort of way kind of a devil make care kind of a Let it Fly Charlie we'll see what happens let the dice roll you're gonna have to be aware they showed a lot of trick plays in that bowl game I think that you're going to have to keep your eyes up for a lot of misdirection uh then Western KY is going to make a handful of plays and I think it's going to just make for some talking points next week about Alabama the security of Alabama's defense and I think they'll probably be perpetuated the week after that against South Florida but uh no I don't think Alabama's going to lose 44 to 23 like like South Alabama did in that bowl game or lose uh 52 to 44 like South Alabama did against Texas State last year but I do think that uh that shows that there are going to be plays to be made against Alabama's defense schematically obviously the talent of Alabama's defense is a lot better than what was at South Alabama the last two seasons uh but but there's going to have to be on your p's and q's and I think everybody's going to have to uh really be be aware of what's going on offensively I think Western Kentucky presents kind of a challenge schematically uh in what they do throwing the ball down the field a lot of cross patterns a lot of uh post Wheels uh bringing a wheel in behind them a lot of Open Wheel routes in that in that bowl game so we'll see if uh King wack I'm sure he's used that film this week uh to get Alabama's defense ready all right let's talk about one more topic on uh today and it involves the NCAA before we do that I want to tell you about my friends at Druid City Music Hall they're right down there on the Strip the premier place for live music on the Strip they've got a AXS going on tonight uh Tucker Wetmore uh they've got axe going on tomorrow Knox and then next week it's going to be Thursday Friday again uh with uh it's going to be Thursday Friday again with Charlotte Sands and Taylor Acorn and then Friday with Zack Hood so they have the Premier Place for live music on the Strip look you can't always get to the Tusa Amphitheater or maybe the Tusa Amphitheater is not always full uh JW Music Hall is filling their stage week in and week out this fall semester with a huge Kaleidoscope fall music series and we appreciate them for being a part of the Jo gther show as well they are a great place to uh enjoy an evening obviously uh being a part of the strip is not always age friendly for folks my age who are older but I think Dr City Music Hall is a great way to kind of be involved in the strip but not so much because it is a does present a much nicer environment in my opinion than some of the other uh College bars that are on the strip it's a great place to watch live music enjoy a few drinks uh great lighting Great Sound uh it's a great place to enjoy enjoy uh enjoy the evening so we appreciate Druid City Music Hall you can check them out online at Druid City musical.com check out all their shows back slsh shows get your tickets right there online or right there will call on the Strip we're going to talk about two things that the NC boy is doing one thing that's been approved and one thing that is proposed one thing that's been approved we'll talk about what has has happened first before the proposal and I can see why this has happened but I do think it's a bad deal on Tuesday the NCAA uh in approved a blanket waiver excluding postseason competition from the four game red shirt Rule now I love the four game red shirt rule it allows you to see a freshman play against a Western Kentucky this weekend it allows you to see a freshman late in the year play against Mercer without burning their red shirt get you some snaps son it's your freshman welcome to college football I love it I think it's a great rule uh but here we go the incident is tinkering with eligibility now look I didn't hate the co years but I did get kind of lost in uh lost in the sauce with who had Co years and who has an extra year of Eligibility and what's the last year of Eligibility I think obviously I mean I'm under the assumption that this year is the final year of Co years I think Malachi Moore represents the final year with Tim Smith as well but I'm always confused with that and here we go the in of the L adding an extra thing now I can complain about it but it might turn out to be a good thing for the player and that will make me back on board with being on board with this rule but what are they doing here excluding postseason competition from four game red shirt rule so I'm Johnny freshman I can play in my four games and keep my red shirt uh let's say I'm Johnny freshman at the University of Alabama and we have made the SEC Championship Game well boom I can now play in the SEC Championship game I can play in the first round of the playoff games the second round of the playoff games the semifinals and the final I play five more games right doesn't have to be Alabama can be Johnny freshman at Clemson I can be Johnny freshman at Ohio State or at Michigan whatever whatever your flavor is I can now play in those five games without burning my red shirt so now instead of four games of Eligibility or four games of experience that I'm getting I can play in nine games while maintaining my red shirt year now I don't know I don't know about this I I don't know if it's a good Rule now why why are they doing it it's very obvious they're doing it because the season has been lengthened by however many games we just set five by by four games right you go adding rounds of the college football playoff you've got to basically extend the roster on here's a way we can extend the roster we we've probably already talked about extending the scholarship limit from 85 to what 105 we're burning Walk-Ons we're not doing Walk-Ons anymore but we're expanding your roster to 105 and now you can utilize the bottom end of your roster in extra games this gives a guy like Ryan Williams uh a lot of time to cook and marinate this year and boom you unleash him in an SEC Championship game uh that would be a lot of fun from a media standpoint just a narrative standpoint uh but I don't know how good this is for college football I guess I'm G have to sit with it or experience it for a year my initial take is not good my initial take is uh if you're playing that many that many games then you've kind of defeated the point of a red shirt of sitting back and watching the games uh but I guess you have sat back the whole year kind of learned College through that first year now it's postseason I don't know I don't I don't love it I don't love it but here's a rule that I absolutely hate we're going to round you out here at about an hour so only a couple more more minutes left here's a rule and a proposal that I absolutely hate and it involves the college football transfer portal look I am Pro Player I know a lot of people do not like the transfer portal I know if you control the transfer portal you will control the nil and the tampering so there are parameters that need to be put around the transfer portal but this parameter that has been proposed is a bad one it's a bad one the NCAA has proposed eliminating the spring transfer portal window uh under the propos under the proposal the 30-day transfer portal window in December would become the loan opportunity for FBS and FCS players to enter their name in the transfer portal and seek a new school the past two years the transfer portal has also opened for a 15-day window in April uh and so this is going to get decided the division one Council will meet in October to determine whether it will adopt the proposal it reduces also it also reduces the number of transfer portal days uh from 45 to 30 now I don't care about that reduce the number of days to 30 that's fine but here's your problem if approved the change would take a fact for the for this year the December transfer portal will open the Monday after Conference Championship games and extend from December 9th through January 7th okay the roll it down players from teams who are competing in the expanded 12 team college football playoff or in the FCS playoffs will still get a five-day exemption to enter the portal after their season has concluded this is ridiculous all right I'm not against eliminating the spring transfer to portal window that's a okay that's fine we that'll simplify things and keep kids committed to their commitment uh and make you really think about things I believe but really okay that does mean you only going to have this one transfer portal window but the calendar makes no sense what are you doing December 20 right smacked in the middle of the calendar uh December let's see December 21 first round matchups first round matchups so you got the top 12 teams uh you've got to deal with and look this is not just an Alabama Alabama issue this is all 12 teams that are in the playoffs obviously the four teams with a buy they're going to have a little bit of an advantage because they're not dealing with a game fourth right a game right there on their plate but you're dealing with first round games and you're dealing with will my players be going in the portal or not it's a problem it's a huge problem it's ridiculous and it's unfair to the teams that are in the college football playoff Alabama's probably going to be one of them at the end of the year it's unfair to Alabama but it's un fair to all the competitors as well you should not be dealing with this if you are not in the college football playoff if you are name any squad X will name if you're vanderbild if you're South Carolina if you're a bad team if you're not a good if you're Mississippi State if you're Arkansas and you're not in the college football playoff you shouldn't have the advantage of having the transfer portal you know not all to yourself because obviously the teams that are in the playoff can operate but it just creates a layer of competition because how do you prioritize your time do you prioritize your time getting ready for a playoff game or do you prioritize your time babysitting your roster it's not fair December 31st you've got the quarterfinal January 1 you got quarterfinals and you still got seven days left on this playoff this proposed window right it's not fair so it's ridiculous you continue D January January 9th the portal is just finished has just closed and you've got semi-final games and obviously the 20 20th is when the playoff is but and so it also puts you at a disadvantage if you're in the playoff now I only get five days I'm Johnny X I'm a freshman on a playoff team and our team got eliminated um and man I didn't really get the opportunity that I wanted this season and I think I can have a better opportunity at school why doesn't matter I only have five days to make that decision whereas these other players have had 30 days it's not fair on both FS just make it after look the season's over January 20 you don't start spring practice right then and there you still got it what couple of months before Spring ball starts you go through February March April right mid April May right mid April right around spring break is when Spring ball starts so broom January 20 start your 30-day calendar 30 days everybody's in it and obviously you put your exemptions in there for schools that have coaching changes later on but the calendar is all messed up you want to you want to make it just one portal window that's fine that's a okay you want to whittle it down from 45 to 30 days a okay no problem but just put it right smack in the middle of the college football playoff calendar you are doing yourself a disservice college football not only are you doing it from a standpoint of from a competitive standpoint right and from a standpoint of fairness to the kids but think about your sport what does the NFL do so well the NFL does one major thing very very well obviously it's fun it's great on Sundays but it stays in the news year in year out month in month out week in week out there's always an event oh free agency opening all the draft oh mini camp Oh you know Hard Knock starting oh Camp starting you know there's always something there's almost never a month without an NFL event in it and I'm not saying you do it for the clicks but do it for the clicks what are you doing in February obviously you've got college basketball from an NCAA standpoint getting ready for March Madness but from a college football standpoint maybe take the extend the season extend the interest you've just crowned a national champion J January 20 and boom January 21 the college football playoff portal uh excuse me the college football transfer portal opens for the next 30 days I say you extend the interest uh of your sport and and thus create a More Level Playing Field for all for for all the schools that are uh that are in the college football playoff portal we're going to get out of here for the day we appreciate everybody who's watched us on the Bama Central YouTube channel we appreciate Jack McMahon joining us from the Western Kentucky Harald the sports Department he's going to be down here at Brian Dy stadium watching the hill Toppers uh maybe compete a little bit uh right there on Sab field on week number one on Saturday we appreciate him joining us right here on the program you can always follow the show The Joe gayr show on B Central on Spotify Apple podcast or on Amazon we appreciate anybody who subscribed rated or reviewed this show send the show to a friend we'll be back tomorrow for the first edition of football Friday of the Season we'll have Katy wendam we'll have a lot of other friends if we can find any other friends in the B Central in the walr network we'll talk Al all things football we'll make some oh man I cannot wait it'll be the first edition of football Friday as we get out of here for the day we want to once again thank our friend Derek Daniel call him and his agents at 20575 3391 call Red Reese and Victoria right there at that number 205 758 3391 all your home life and auto insurance needs it's going to be a crazy driving weekend in Tuscaloosa with the home weekend and I cannot wait for it but you want to make sure that you have the proper Insurance when you're driving into Tuscaloosa this weekend because what we're going to get overrun with over 100,000 people coming into town for the game and it's going to be great but you can call him State Farm Insurance 205 758 3391 make sure that you have your comprehensive your Collision your all all the coverages that you need for your brand new ride as you're coming in uh representing your Alabama fandom uh we cannot wait to have you here in tuscala make sure you call Derek Daniel for all of your insurance needs at 20575 3391 we'll be back tomorrow for the first edition of football Friday right here on the Joe Gaither show on Bama Central and BAC central.com thanks for 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