Jumbo Package: Nate Oats continues to load up the schedule

· Yahoo Sports

Mar 26, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats speaks ahead of the Midwest regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Happy Friday, everyone. We learned yesterday that Nate Oats has added yet another marquee opponent to the basketball schedule.

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Alabama basketball has added a power conference opponent to its schedule for the next two seasons. The Crimson Tide will face off against Iowa during both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons, the Hawkeyes announced on Thursday.

According to the Iowa press release, the first game of the series is scheduled for Dec. 21. The 2027-28 game does not have a finalized dates.

The two schools will not play the games on their home campuses. Instead, the first game of the series will be played at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines and the return trip in Mobile.

Like their football team, Iowa seemingly tries to bore fans to death with a glacial pace of play which presents a fascinating contrast of styles with Alabama’s breakneck strategy. In any case, Nate Oats continues to push the scheduling envelope. Meanwhile, in Lexington:

That is dreadful.

We also got some sad news yesterday. Former Alabama guard Mikhail Torrence has passed away, far too young.

After his basketball career came to a close, Torrance worked a variety of jobs. He was an assistant basketball coach at Faith Academy in Mobile, Alabama, a basketball referee for the Alabama High School Athletic Association, a realty assistant turned specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and had also spent the last year as a real estate agent.

Former Alabama defensive lineman Wallace Gilberry, who shared UA as a student for two years with Torrance, reacted on Facebook to the news of his friend’s death.

“Get your rest,” Gilberry wrote. “You were one smooth dude with a lot of talent, but more than that, you were just a genuinely good person. I’ll never understand how God picks and chooses, but He took a good one today.”

Condolences to his family.

Next up in the “50 players” series is Cederian Morgan, covered by Matt Stahl.

“We call him the Gulf of Mexico,” Coleman-Williams told reporters of Morgan. ”You throw it in there, he’s going to catch it. He’s got plenty of space. I’m just super proud of my guy.”

Morgan joined the Crimson Tide as a four-star prospect. The 247Sports composite rankings listed him as the No. 5 wide receiver in the 2026 recruiting class as after he finished his senior season with 82 catches for 1,419 yards and 16 touchodowns.

Much like Rogers was slated to do, Morgan could provide a valuable counterpunch to the skillsets of Coleman-Williams and Brooks. Neither of those two players has impressive size, but at 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, Morgan does.

“He called the ocean by its wrong name, Pawwwwlll.”

Joe Gaither examined the Mississippi State matchup.

Jeff Lebby’s version of the air raid gets behind sophomore Kamario Taylor in 2026. Taylor is a 4-star recruit and is a home grown talent, hailing from Macon, Miss. He played in 11 games as a true freshman, passing for 629 yards and five touchdowns with an interception, while rushing for 458 and eight more scores as his dual-threat ability was on display.

Taylor leans on Fluff Bothwell in the backfield as the running back returns for his junior season. Bothwell finished 12th in the conference in rushing, notching 677 yards and six touchdowns.

Anthony Evans III returns for Mississippi State after leading the team in receptions in 2025 with 67 for 831 yards and four touchdowns. While the offensive line features multiple transfers in DJ Chester from LSU and LJ Prudhomme from Arkansas. Former Alabama and North Carolina offensive lineman Myles McVay joined the Bulldogs and will compete for a spot.

That game has the potential to he hairy, with a morning kickoff and Georgia looming the next Saturday.

Kalen DeBoer expressed contentment with the NIL funds he has, but more would be nice.

“I think we’re very competitive, and that’s what I ask,” DeBoer told WVUA-TV’s Gary Harris. “When we’re able to be competitive, I think what our staff brings, what this program has and what we have for our players, the amount of investment that we put into each scholarship guy that’s on this football team, I just don’t know what [other] program that can give what we give our guys. We’ve got to continue to grow. There’s no question.

“We’ve got to continue to adjust to the times. We’ve got to continue to push the envelope. We need the support of anyone that wants to be a part of it. I think more and more people do understand that you can have an awesome staff, but you’ve got to have the NIL support to be able to get the players because they’re the ones that make the plays on Saturdays.”

Last, in case you need a special gift for someone, how about a Bruce Pearl cameo?

There are people who will actually pay for that.

That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.

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