When the calendar turns to Monday this week it will officially be the beginning of Week Zero for college football. Fall camps aren’t over yet around the SEC, but they are beginning to shift focus from camp and scrimmages into actual game prep and installs. As the third week of camp comes to a close around the league, here’s a quick recap of the biggest storylines over the last seven days.
LSU running back room far from settled
LSU held a scrimmage in Tiger Stadium on Saturday. The practice was closed to the public, but did have around 500 people in attendance including scouts, former players, and boosters. The story of the day was on the offensive and centered around a player that hasn’t garnered nearly enough attention this August. Running back Caden Durham has been hovering around the second or third spot on the depth chart for most of camp, as he and Harlem Berry have been slotted behind Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones. On Saturday, Durham made his case for consideration for RB1 with a massive day with two separate runs of 70 yards or longer. Jones is still expected to be the first team back as of now, but don’t be surprised if Durham gets a few more opportunities in practice between now and the Clemson game.
Alabama names their quarterback
The wait is over for Alabama, as they made a formal announcement on who their quarterback will be to start the 2026 season with the reveal of former five-star prospect Keelon Russell be under or behind center when Alabama opens their season against East Carolina. Russell has an incredibly high ceiling, and he’s already drawn rave reviews from coaches and scouts. The ceiling may be incredibly high, but the experience is about as minimal as you can get with 37 snaps in his freshman season.
The news isn’t necessarily a huge shock. Russell’s projection as the starter picked up a ton of steam following spring camp an ‘A Day’ performance in the spring that saw him throw four touchdowns back in April. Austin Mack will serve as the backup to start the year, but will most likely still see the field throughout the season. Mack is a 6-foot-6 230 pounder with a rocket for a right arm that followed head coach Kalen DeBoer to Tuscaloosa from Washington after he took the job.
Texas drama
There’s always been an issue with managing expectations regarding Texas football. From the way people in Austin talk about the program year in and year out, you’d never guess that the Longhorns have one national title in the last 55 years.
It may be time to recalibrate those expectations. And, with the recent drama surrounding linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith, maybe the base line should just be – be normal.
Smith was battling for a starting spot at linebacker after racking up 60 tackles in 12 games a season ago with two interceptions and 5.5 tackles for loss. On Friday he was dismissed from the team on the eve of their second scrimmage of fall camp.
“I didn’t like it,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It’s an unfortunate situation for him individually. For us as a team, I hate that. He’s a quality player, but I have to think about the team first.”
Smith had missed the first scrimmage of fall camp the previous Saturday because of the flu, Sarkisian said. Rumors have since swirled with about the legitimacy of Sarkisian’s reason. There were some social media rumors of Smith skipping practices and other off the field issues that involved not only Smith, but maybe others as well. The flu narrative seemed to be debunked pretty quickly as well.
After addressing the situation with the media, Sarkisian changed his tune and said the official reason was “conduct detrimental to the team.” If that drama wasn’t distracting enough, a parent of a Texas player also voiced some displeasure with some things on his personal Twitter.
