Alabama football has added another player to its 2026 recruiting class. Nick Sherman, a Tuscaloosa native, has committed to the Crimson Tide, he announced Sunday. "Coming HOME, COMMITTED," Sherman wrote on social media.

More is on the line as the College Football Playoff this week for one coach at an SEC powerhouse, an analyst has claimed.

The 12-team College Football Playoff bracket is set, and the games begin on Dec. 19. The first round is hosted by the higher seed before the games shift to neutral sites. Here is you need to know: 11 games are set between Dec. 19 and Jan. 19, and each will be broadcast nationally. The first round (CFP seeds, times Eastern):

A week before Alabama's biggest game of the year against Oklahoma, one of their coaches will be leaving for new pastures in 2026.

CBS college football analyst Rick Neuheisel reported Kalen DeBoer plans to stay at Alabama on Friday. “My sources say Kalen DeBoer is happy in Tuscaloosa and will stay there,” Neuheisel said.

Sherman, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound Tuscaloosa native, joins five-star cornerback Jorden Edmonds and four star Zyan Gibson in Alabama 's 2026 recruiting class. At Itawamba Community College in 2025, Sherman had 24 tackles, one sack and two interceptions.

The first round of the College Football Playoff features two rematches. One of the two rematches pits the Ole Miss Rebels against the Tulane Green Wave. Ole Miss won the September 20 meeting in Oxford by 35 points. Ole Miss is a 17.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook for the December 20 showdown.

The Sooners return to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019 against Alabama in the program's first home playoff contest.