Jumbo Package: Amari Allen declares for NBA Draft, maintains eligibility

Happy Monday, everyone. The softball team did what they were supposed to this weekend in sweeping SEC doormat Kentucky. Baseball managed to salvage one of three in Austin, which isn’t too bad on the road against the 2nd-ranked team in the nation.

The NFL Draft starts Thursday, and Nick Kelly has compiled for you a list of “expert” predictions on where Alabama’s players will land. There is consensus on Kadyn Proctor extending the Tide’s first round streak, but predictions on Ty Simpson are mixed.

The biggest news of the weekend came last night, when Amari Allen announced his intention to declare for the NBA Draft while maintaining eligibility. forestarrow.rest

The good news is that he mentions Nate Oats by name and says nothing about the transfer portal, which suggests that the decision will be between the draft and returning to Alabama. Oats typically recommends that they stay in the draft only if they are assured a guaranteed deal and not a two-way. We’ll have to wait and see how his prep goes.

Freshman guard Davion Hannah is hitting the portal.

Alabama guard Davion Hannah plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Joe Tipton confirmed. He is a former Top 50 recruit.

Hannah appeared in 10 games for the Crimson Tide this past season as a true freshman. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds during that time across 12.7 minutes per game. He also shot 46.2% from the field.

Hannah last played for Alabama on Dec. 17 before a “medical condition” kept him out for the rest of the year, head coach Nate Oats previously said. Oats also confirmed that Hannah would seek a medical redshirt, which would give him four full years of eligibility left.

Hannah showed flashes, but they were brief. Best of luck to him.

Bryant Haines, Indiana’s defensive coordinator, showed himself to be quite thin skinned this weekend after these comments from Ty Simpson on a podcast.

“From my point of view, I was like, they don’t do much,” he said. “They do the same thing every down. So when I got the ball, I knew exactly what was going to happen. They just didn’t mess up, bro. They were in the exact same spot they were supposed to be.They were so well-coached.

“It was so much different than the SEC. In the SEC, they’ll play man, they’ll do these unorthodox coverages. That’s kind of how it is. That game was crazy to me. Of course, I got hurt. So that was a bummer. I knew what they were going to do. We couldn’t really run the ball, didn’t really throw. It was just so crazy to me how it happened.”

Emphasis mine. Somehow, Haines took that comment as a slight.

“Adorable,” Haines wrote on social media. “We also saw everything they were doing, on every single snap… It’s just that we exploited those cues. And didn’t get frozen and crushed by them.”

After some pushback on social media for the comment, Haines doubled down.

“That’s all it took to break your entire fanbase?” He wrote. “Wow.. maybe I should’ve just said “Boo”. No apologies, no compliments. Grow up folks. He had a bad take and I said the painful truth. Bounce back better.

Somebody definitely needs to do some growing up, Bryant.

Last, the folks at Sports Business Journal believe that the power leagues in college football will consolidate media rights in order to drive the value higher, perhaps as much as doubling it in a decade’s time. Some of this would be good for fans, but some not so much.

– Choosing from a more robust selection of bidders — especially those who haven’t been able to purchase these rights previously. The Power Four conferences have licensed exclusively to traditional linear broadcasters, locking out all major digital streaming companiesincluding Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, which have significantly higher market caps, much bigger/growing advertising businesses, global distribution, and demonstrated intent, having made billion-dollar rights purchases from single sellers NFL (Amazon, YouTube Sunday Ticket) and NBA (Amazon). All while streaming (47%) has surpassed linear viewing (43%) as the preference of Americans, per Nielsen.

– Creating more good games (e.g., top 25 vs. top 25, Power Four vs. Power Four), limiting Power Four schools to just one mediocre matchup per year instead of two or three currently. In 2025, out of 408 total Power Four games, only 11% (45) matched ranked vs. ranked teams. These produced 32% of season viewership.

– Spreading out the best Saturday games, instead of playing many head-to-head, using the same AI scheduling software as major leagues.

Conferences working together to create more marquee non-conference matchups would be awesome. Making college football fans carry all of those streaming services to see them would not, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen in the pro leagues. Get ready for it though, it’s coming.

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

Roll Tide.

Before Sheffield United’s 2-0 win over Watford on Saturday afternoon, Chris Wilder set out a clear vision for how he wants his squad to look heading into next season.

“We’re going to be a tight group”, speaking to the media about his midfield options, Wilder made it clear that squad size, and more importantly, availability, will be central to his planning.

“We’ve got to be tight, we’re going to be a tight group next year, we’re going to be running with 22–23 players. We’re going to go nowhere near the numbers we’ve got this season.”

The United boss stressed that carrying excess numbers is no longer part of the plan, with every player expected to contribute consistently.

“Everybody has to be available and that’s why the Tom Davies decision was made in conjunction with the rise of Oli [Arblaster] and Sydie [Peck] and the signing of Joe Rothwell which I felt was important and Jairo [Riedewald] who has been excellent.”

Interestingly, this context casts intrigue over reports linking Jamie Shackleton with a potential extended stay. Despite barely featuring over two seasons, playing a total of 46 minutes, The Star suggest he could stay in the squad beyond the summer.

He added: “We’ve got a nice balance there; two senior, two younger. We have to make sure the balance is right, we don’t need 5 players in the middle of the park.”

The final point referenced Gustavo Hamer’s ability to play in a more central position. However, as per the recent reports from Alan Nixon, the Blades could see both Hamer and the youngster Peck leave S2 this summer.

Chris Wilder on Player Contracts

Wilder also addressed the uncertainty surrounding players entering the final year of their deals, singling out Tyrese Campbell and Hamer as key cases.

“The two big ones on merit are Tyrese Campbell and Gus. Talks with the players and agents. Do they want to be part of things going forward?”

The situation, however, is far from straightforward. “We’ll treat everyone on their own individual basis. There’s a lot of discussion between all parties between now and the end of the season,” he said. While acknowledging player ambition, Wilder was firm on the club’s position. “But they’re still under contract and if the player wants to go but there’s no interest in him then he’s here for next season.”

He also made it clear that allowing valuable players to run down contracts is not ideal, particularly in Hamer’s case. “We don’t like players running down their contract especially when the club paid quite a bit of money for Gus.”

Wilder added: “There’s a lot of moving parts. There will be players we come to financial settlements with but still there will be players with decisions to be made.”

Blades Set to Focus on Experience in Transfer Window

Perhaps the strongest message from Wilder came when discussing the need for greater experience within the squad.

“I need more experience in the team; the owners know it, Steve [Bettis] knows it. We need more street-wise.”

While reaffirming his belief in youth development, Wilder acknowledged the current imbalance. “I think we all know the future is in young players coming through our academy and if we can pick one or two up like Cooper and Harrison Burrows.”

However, comparing United to Hull City, who currently sit in the play-offs, he pointed to a key difference. “You look at Hull City, it’s stacked full of experience and know-how and we’ve not dealt with those moments”. Wilder expanded on that contrast by listing seasoned players such as former Blades Oli McBurnie, John Lundstram and John Egan, and highlighting the gap in average age.

Despite calling for experience, Wilder was clear that a strong core of young players will remain central to the squad.

“Next year we’re going to have Cooper, Seriki, Harrison, Blaster, Brooks, Peck, Oné; that’s seven young players that will be in our squad of 25, I don’t think anyone will have those kind of numbers.”

“We don’t need to bring more young players in my opinion. It needs to be padded out with boys who know their way around a football pitch and deal with moments when they come because we haven’t this season.”

Sheffield United Readying Rebuild

Wilder also confirmed that significant changes are coming, though not in terms of sheer volume of arrivals.

“The squad will be leaner, we’ve talked about the number of outgoings [10–15] and there will be nowhere near that number coming in but they have to be the right character and personality.”

With the latest reports suggesting Hamer and Peck will be sold to fetch in some funds for the summer rebuild, this should give the Blades enough wiggle room to bulk out the squad with experience and quality ready to challenge for promotion in the 2026/27 Championship campaign.

Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan Van Den Berg could be a player to watch for the Buffalo Bills ahead of the 2026 NFL draft.

As things stand, the Bills hold the No. 26 overall pick in the first round. The team has seven total picks scattered around the board. Buffalo is missing their second-round pick (traded for D.J. Moore), but the team picks twice in the fifth round.

If things hold there, general manager Brandon Beane and the Bills front office could have plenty of options to consider when turning in their selection cards.

During the run up to the draft, which starts April 23, Bills Wire will compile information on prospects Buffalo could have interest in. Specifically, what scouting reports and draft profiles say about their game.

Van Den Berg is up next in our prospect previews.

Here's a rundown of what experts are saying about his game:

DT Jordan Van Den Berg | Georgia Tech | Senior

Vitals

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 310 lbs

Age: 24

Pros

• Perfect 10 out of 10 in RAS (Relative Athletic Score) testing; ranked among most athletic DT prospects since 1987
• Ideal size, flexibility, and athleticism for NFL DT
• Quick off the line
• Power to take on double teams and stuff runs

Cons

• Lacks pass rush arsenal and counters
• Could use hands more consistently
• Older-aged rookie

Stats

2025 stats (13 GP):

• 22 solo tackles, 44 combined tackles, 11 TFL, 3 sacks

Career Stats (54 GP):

• 50 solo tackles, 93 combined tackles, 20 TFL, 6.5 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles

2025 PFF grade:

• 73.9.

PFF grade over the last three seasons:

• 72.7.

Consensus rank

Draft stock: Day 3

Highlight reel

Jordan van den Berg pic.twitter.com/VHsbdUmur8

— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) March 22, 2026

For more, visit:

• Pro Football Focus
• NFL Draft Buzz
• NFL.com

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills 2026 draft target: Scouting report for DT Jordan Van Den Berg

There are some eye-catching rumours in today's transfer roundup. Could Arsenal really raid North London rivals Tottenham for talent this summer? Elsewhere, Italy's elite battle for Robert Lewandowski.

Arsenal andChelsea are both considering a potential summer move for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall. Spurs slipped closer to a shock relegation at the weekend, which could lead to a fire-sale of talent.

The North Londoners consider Bergvall an untouchable part of their project, but relegation would rip up the script.Caught Offside claim Arsenal and Chelsea want the Swedish starlet.

Caught Offside feature prominently during today's transfer talk, with Arsenal a focus. The Gunners have reportedly held talks with Sporting CP over three talents.Ousmane Diomande, Morten Hjulmand and Ivan Fresneda are all of interest, though there is tension between the clubs after last summer's Viktor Gyokeres saga...

Also of interest to Arsenal isEduardo Camavinga, who can leave Real Madrid this summer. A fee of around €55m should be enough to sign the Frenchman, with Manchester United rivalling that interest.

The Arsenal theme continues in L'Equipe. The French outlet claimParis Saint-Germain are weighing up an approach for Gabriel Martinelli, should Bradley Barcola depart in the summer. Arsenal are understood to be prepared to do business at around £50m.

Exiting the Emirates, we head to Villa Park.Aston Villa are closely watching Curtis Jones, whose Liverpool deal is rapidly running down. Contract talks have stalled between Arne Slot's side and the Scouser, who TEAMtalk report could say ta-rah to Anfield.

Manchester United's midfield rebuild will be one of the stories of the summer, and with the sound of the Champions League anthem getting ever closer, there should be cash to splash.Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson is the top target, though The Athletic say Bournemouth's Alex Scott has become a viable alternative.

BlogFind Your Perfect Cricket Bat: A Player's Guide to Power and PrecisionChoosing the right cricket bat often feels like solving a small mystery wrapped inside a very big decision. You might walk into a sports shop and see rows of wooden shafts, each...Open →

Over in Italy,Juventus and AC Milan are battling it out for veteran goal-grabber Robert Lewandowski. Out of contract in the summer, the prolific Pole must decide between a Barcelona back-up role next season or a Serie A switch. Gazzetta dello Sport say his agent has been in Italy for talks with both clubs.

Liverpool Set to Secure Ibrahima Konate Future

There is a familiar rhythm to contract talks at Liverpool, a slow burn that often leaves supporters uneasy before resolution arrives. With Ibrahima Konate, that pattern appears to be reaching its conclusion. The French defender has confirmed that a new deal is close, easing concerns that had linked him with a potential move to Real Madrid.

Konate’s current contract was due to expire at the end of the season, prompting speculation about his long term future. Yet, speaking candidly, he made it clear that his intention has always been to remain at Anfield.

“My future? To be fair, there are many things people have said but for a long time we have spoken with the club and we are close to an agreement.”

For Liverpool, securing Konate represents more than routine business. It is a statement of continuity under Arne Slot, whose title winning debut season has already reshaped expectations.

Photo: IMAGO

Contract Talks and Lingering Questions

While the outcome appears positive, Konate has not shied away from questioning the process. He pointed towards sporting director Richard Hughes, suggesting that clarity over delays would be welcome.

“This is what I always wanted. I’m waiting to sort the contract but when everything is sorted you will have to ask Richard what I said to him in September, November, and he’s going to say something to make everyone quiet.”

Liverpool supporters have seen this script before. The drawn out negotiations involving Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah followed a similar timeline. Even the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold raised concerns about how the club handles key contracts.

Konate acknowledged that this may be by design.

“This is negotiation. With Virgil and Mo last season it was exactly the same, I think they signed the contract in April and this is maybe how the club wants it.”

Leadership Role Growing at Liverpool

Beyond contracts, there is a broader narrative forming around Konate at Liverpool. At 26, he is stepping into a leadership role at a time of transition. With senior figures such as Salah and Andy Robertson set to depart, the responsibility will increasingly fall on the next generation.

“I think I’m a leader already for this team, for the younger players, for everyone to be fair.”

His partnership with Van Dijk has been central to Liverpool’s defensive stability, yet the reality of football’s cycle is not lost on him.

“The legends are going to leave one day and it’s going to be our turn to take the lead.”

For a club rebuilding while still competing at the highest level, that mindset is essential.

Emotional Bond Driving Commitment

Konate’s connection to Liverpool extends beyond the pitch. A difficult personal year, marked by the loss of his father, has deepened his attachment to the club and its support network.

“It was a tough year because many things happened, and I think if everyone knew exactly what happened to me, they can understand which kind of sacrifice I’ve done for this club.”

That sense of belonging is evident in how he speaks about Liverpool.

“I take it in my heart like my family. It’s such an amazing club and amazing family.”

In modern football, where contracts often hinge on leverage and timing, this kind of emotional investment still carries weight. For Liverpool, tying down Ibrahima Konate is not just about securing a defender, it is about reinforcing the spine of a team that continues to evolve.