The Weekender: Alabama's Quarterback Competition Rolls On, Louisville Basketball Loses a Prized Recruit and the Bo Nix Heisman Campaign Has Begun

By 11W Staff on August 20, 2023 at 2:35 pm
Jalen Milroe and Bryce Young
Butch Dill – USA TODAY Sports
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Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.

Bama’s Waiting Game

Ohio State isn’t the only elite college football program with an unsettled quarterback competition. A three-man battle rages on in Tuscaloosa, with Nick Saban giving the public zero clues about who may be the frontrunner.

Many believed that Jalen Milroe would earn the job, after patiently waiting his turn for two years. When Bryce Young went down with a shoulder injury last season, the Texas native closed out a road victory over No. 20 Arkansas and led the Crimson Tide to a win in his first career start the following week.

Despite Milroe’s admirable work out of the bullpen, some fans are clamoring for Ty Simpson to get the nod instead. Simpson was a five-star recruit in 2022, and showcased his true dual-threat ability throughout an impressive high school career.

But when neither in-house option created separation in spring ball, Saban took to the transfer portal. He plucked former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner, reuniting him with Alabama’s new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

Buchner was inconsistent in South Bend, but his familiarity with the offense gives him an advantage at his new home. The Crimson Tide have a roster that is ready and expected to win a national championship; the coaching staff may simply pick the guy that is most comfortable in Rees’ scheme.

It remains to be seen which Alabama signal-caller will trot onto the field in the season opener. But the decision is one that Saban and company need to get right in order to avoid missing the College Football Playoff again.

Louisville Heartbreak

Just when it looked like the Louisville men’s basketball program was heading in the right direction, Cardinals fans were hit with frustrating news. Trentyn Flowers, a top-30 recruit in the class of 2023, decided to pack his bags just days before the start of the academic term.

Nobody was more hurt than head coach Kenny Payne, who subsequently ignored Flowers’ repeated phone calls. Coming off the worst year in program history, Payne had built momentum this offseason with several high-impact transfer additions and an elite haul of recruits. The positive vibes have now turned sour again, as the top-ranked prospect of Louisville’s incoming class is bolting for Australia.

In his announcement post, Flowers shares a graphic of himself alongside LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey, two young NBA stars that joined the league via Australia’s NBL. The circumstances, however, were totally different in both of their cases. Ball wanted to play NCAA college basketball, but becoming eligible would have been a long road due to his previous endeavors. Giddey was born and raised in Melbourne; his transition to the NBL didn’t require moving across the world.

Flowers won’t be making the trek alone. Fellow four-star recruit A.J. Johnson decommitted from Texas back in April and is doing the exact same thing. But in no way does that lessen the sting for a Louisville program and fan base that are absolutely desperate to return to national relevance.

New York Nix

The new college football season has yet to kick off, but Bo Nix’s Heisman push is already underway.

After three relatively nondescript years at Auburn, Nix broke out in his first campaign with the Ducks. He finished second in the nation in completion percentage while tallying 43 total touchdowns for a 10-win Oregon squad.

The Pac-12 has been completely dismantled in the realignment frenzy, but the final year of its current era is going to be incredibly fun. The conference has four teams – USC, Washington, Utah, and Oregon – ranked inside the top 15 of the preseason AP poll, and each are led by a quarterback with Heisman aspirations.

Transfers DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon State) and Drew Pyne (Arizona State) have joined the fray, along with Shedeur and Deion Sanders at Colorado. UCLA head coach Chip Kelly might hand the keys to five-star true freshman Dante Moore. The league will have its share of non-competitive squads, but just about every conference matchup on the schedule will give college football fans a reason to tune in nonetheless.

Long viewed as the weakest Power Five football conference, the Pac-12 finally possesses a crop of teams talented enough to change the narrative. Unfortunately, the stars have aligned just moments before the league itself explodes. But if Oregon’s preseason Heisman billboard is any indication, the last ride for this version of the conference will be one to remember.

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What’s Next

  • Men’s Soccer: vs. Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m. Thursday
  • Women’s Soccer: at Memphis, 8 p.m. Thursday
  • Field Hockey: at Lehigh, 6 p.m. Friday
  • 13 Days Until: Ohio State at Indiana, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
  • 34 Days Until: Ohio State at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. (NBC)
  • 62 Days Until: Ohio State vs. Penn State, TBD
  • 97 Days Until: Ohio State at Michigan, Noon (FOX)
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