LSU football has gone through some changes in the past year. The Tigers have been dealing with losing their head coach and losing players to the transfers portal and the draft. However, in time LSU will be a top-ranked team in the SEC. They did end their season with a 6-7 record, finishing last in their conference. But with a new head coach and new young players they have a chance to turn things around.

The Tigers will not be starting their season off with Coach Orgeron as part of the team. Their new head coach, Brain Kelly, is coming from Notre Dame and will now be coaching the Tigers, preparing the team for the season, and recruiting new talent. Getting their hands on 4-star safety Maurice Willams and linebacker Xavier Atkins to really build up that defense. Then on the offense side, they landed 4-star tight end Tayvion Galloway. Not only did they get them some new recruits they also got them some new transfers. They got cornerbacks Jarrick Bernard, Greg Brooks, wide receiver Devonte Lee and Quarterback Jayden Daniels just to name a few. 

However, they do still have problems to deal with. They lost players to the draft, one of those players was one of the best players in the draft and college football, Derek Stringly. He went 3rd overall to the Huston Texans. He was not the only top LSU prospect that got drafted, O-lineman Ed Ingram went 59th overall to the Minnesota Vikings. That is just a start, the transfer portal has been a blessing and a curse for the Tigers and college football because players will just leave every few months. But even if they overcome that, they still must get used to Brain Kelly’s playing and coaching style.

This was also the best timing for Brain Kelly to become the new head coach because most, if not all, of the 2019 team are gone. However, he does have fresh players and a more manageable schedule to work with. Having a new coach means they will have a new playing style that can benefit them in having a solid season. This upcoming season the Tigers will have a healthy roster. Last year they did have some injuries which also cost them a few wins. But now it is a new year with a new and healthier roster.  

Now with all of that being said, the Tigers will not have a crazy good year, but it will be a solid one. I have LSU going 8-4 with them losing to Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, and Arkansas. This will just be the start, but LSU is on the come-up and will get them another National Championship sooner than later.  

Writer

 -By: Zervante White

The Alabama football program has been one of College Football’s most relevant dynasties in recent history. The Saban-led program has amassed winning season after winning season and has the championship rings to boast. Since Nick Saban took over the program nearly 15 years ago, he has won 6 championships and has the best track record for players drafted under him. However, the days of the Bama Dynasty have begun to fade as they could not win a championship in 2021 after losing to UGA in the National Championship Game. Although it is only one year without a championship, Alabama was defeated in a convincing fashion. It was the first time that Georgia had beaten a Saban-led Alabama team.

During this offseason, Alabama has faced several challenges in losing in the National Championship and recruiting and off-the-field issues. Since the end of the season, Alabama has had at least 3 players transfer and another player was dismissed from the team by Saban. For many programs, dismissing a player is a common occurrence and may just be a casualty of running a top-notch program, however, coaches like Nick Saban, he has rarely ever dismissed his players and typically will give them alternative consequences to correct the behavior. However, as of late, the players seem to be challenging Saban’s vision more and undermining his wishes. 

Jahleel Billingsley, Former Bama Tight End, and current Texas transfer left the program in January, and former five-star WR Agiye Hall also was dismissed from the program and went to Texas. These are among the top guys out of nearly 15 players who were either dismissed or willingly entered the transfer portal. This doesn’t look good for the Bama program, but as always, they are making room for new talent that will likely be showing up this spring and summer. 

Over the past few days, Nick Saban has been in the forefront of the media himself as he was cited stating in an interview that Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M were involved in “paying” his entire team to come to Texas A&M. Saban stated:

"A&M bought every player on their team -- made a deal for name, image and likeness. We didn't buy one player. But I don't know if we're going to be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it."

While the allegations are likely true, through the new “Name, Image, and Likeness” Bill passed by the NCAA, schools, and donors are able to put together deals that allow for players to be paid through sponsorships and endorsements. While it may seem as if the program is involved in some unethical behavior by offering these deals, the allegations of Nick Saban aren’t reasonable under the new rules. 

In response to Saban, Jimbo Fisher stated the following: 

“Some people think they're God. Go dig into how God did his deal. May find out about a guy, a lot of things you don’t want to know. We build him up to be the Czar of football, go dig into his past or anybody who has coached with him. You can find out anything you want to find out. What he does and how he does it. It’s despicable.” 

Jimbo Fisher, who has an extensive history with Nick Saban surely had some choice words, but his relationship gives him credibility in his statements. 

Not only did Saban fire off at the Texas A&M program, but he also had some subliminal words that were seemingly aimed at Deion Sanders and the Jackson State football program. He seemed to be referencing the former top player in the class of 2022, Travis Hunter, who despite having every major offer in the nation, chose an HBCU program over the other big schools. 

With the landscape of college football becoming more of a professionally incentivized league, it is hard to stop schools with big-money donors to not chip in to get the nation's top recruits. However, it becomes messy when coaches begin to go at each other about what is ethical and unethical without the NCAA stepping in to clear up any discrepancies because now college football fans, coaches, and players all seem to be on a different page when it comes to understanding the limitations of NIL and the transfer portal rules.

(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)

As wide open as the college landscape is for recruiting, with the new transfer portal, the movement is more erratic than ever. In a calendar year, we've seen college freshmen at two different schools and we've seen coaches recruit players for another school while still at a school. Now that everyone has seen the good and the bad of the transfer portal, teams are not beginning to take full advantage of it and Texas has benefited greatly. 

In 2021, Steve Sarkisian began his first season as Head Coach of the Longhorns where he led them to an unimpressive 5-7 record. With the perpetual turmoil that the Texas program has faced over the last 10 years, fans expected the offensive mastermind to bring a taste of Bama with him and win immediately. However, building a program like Texas would prove to have more challenges than expected, specifically in recruiting. Because of the concentration of schools in Texas and its proximity to many major SEC powerhouses, Texas has struggled to bring in the best talent and to even compete for its conference. Since 2009, Texas has only had one season of 10 wins or more.

With the shortage of consistent talent and no recruiting grasp on their state, schools like Texas A&M have surpassed them for the most recent success. Now, Coach Sarkisian is looking to change that. Spending some time at Alabama, Sarkisian was around for the recruitment of Tight End Jahleel Billingsley and Agiye Hall, who are both now a part of the Texas Longhorn program. 

Both Billingsley and Hall both entered the portal this calendar year and we're both a part of the 2021 season, where they faced struggles within the program. Saban spoke about both guys at different points in the season regarding their commitment to the program. Billingsley was one of the top playmakers at the tight end position in 2021, but he could not rise to the occasion in the National Championship where he had multiple drops and ultimately failed the team.

In a similar case with Hall, he was known to have several run-ins with Nick Saban, where he was not being an asset to the team and disregarding team policies like tweeting about the program negatively. Billingsley entered the portal in January and Hall entered in April.

Despite leaving the Alabama program, both guys will be expected to be big contributors to the Texas program. They will be two of the best prospects on the team and will surely have a chance to start day 1. Bama will more than likely lead recruiting rankings again and with Texas bringing in former 4 and 5-star guys, they are looking to ease their way into the conversation for the top program in the nation. Unironically, Texas and Alabama will face off in the second game of the season and Texas is expected to move into the SEC prior to the 2025 season.

Writer

-By: LeMarkus Bailey