How an Alabama Walk-On Set the Tone For a Crucial Crimson Tide Victory

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama basketball bounced back into the win column on Wednesday with a 100-97 victory over Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide battled and fought against the Aggies in a game that saw 28 lead changes, but ultimately came away with a much-needed victory over the Southeastern Conference leaders.

Alabama's theme all week was response after a demoralizing loss to the Florida Gators on Sunday. Nate Oats stressed his team's need to develop some player leadership and embrace a blue-collar mentality as the Crimson Tide's season hung in the balance.

Nate Oats Sees Texas A&M Game as Potential 'Tipping Point' for Rest of Season

Alabama saw an unlikely player step up in the leadership department as underclassman

walk-on Jacob Martin set the tone for the team before the ball was even tipped off. Martin stepped into the middle of the Crimson Tide's pregame huddle and got animated, giving a pregame speech. The walk-on was exuberant to the point of spectacle as he implored his teammates to play with the proper enthusiasm.

"He was just getting everybody's energy up, just letting us know what's at stake and everybody loves J-Mart, man," Aden Holloway said after the victory. "He's just always bringing that energy every single day. I feel like [he] did a great job with that, and I feel like that helped us a lot today, just really push through and get the win. So shout out J-Mart for sure."

Alabama walk-on Jacob Martin was HYPING up the Crimson Tide before breaking down the huddle ahead of the Texas A&M game pic.twitter.com/xytVXXCTa5
— Hunter De Siver (@HunterDeSiver) February 4, 2026

Martin didn't play a single minute in the game and has only played nine minutes throughout the entire season, but Alabama's effort against the top team in the conference looked the best its been in weeks.

He followed up his pregame show of emotion with a halftime moment of energy as he celebrated an end-of-half blue-collar play that ultimately made the difference in the win. Alabama's Houston Mallette tipped an offensive rebound to Latrell Wrightsell for a 3-point shot to tie the game at 46, and Martin became one of the first players to enthusiastically jump off the bench and hype up the moment.

Houston Mallette gets the offensive rebound tip out to Latrell Wrightsell Jr. for a game-tying 3 at the buzzer. Nate Oats is fired up.

HALFTIME: Alabama 46, Texas A&M 46 pic.twitter.com/9DMEqbht4R
— Katie Windham (@katiewindham_) February 5, 2026

"I was not out there," Oats said of his pregame speech. "I heard he did a pretty good job of getting everybody fired up. I didn't know he had all that in him. He plays hard. He's smart. He's passionate. He comes to work every day, and he does a really good job on our scout team, making our bigs better. I liked - I mean, shoot- I need to get a video of it. I haven't seen it. I heard from a couple of the assistants, and the players talked about it. I had to do radio at halftime, so I guess I didn't get to see his halftime celebration.

"I'll say this, the things Jacob's about is the stuff we've got to be about, playing hard and toughness, rebounding, blue collar. So the play to end the half was an offensive rebound tip by Houston [Mallette] that led to a three, which ends up being the game-winning play. It's a one-possession game, we needed those three points in a bad way that tied it at the half, so I love the fact he celebrated that like it was the best dunk you've ever seen because we've got to make this thing more about effort, blue collar, and tough plays like that."

Martin's only scored three points and pulled down just a single rebound in six games this season, but the walk-on played a critical role on Wednesday as his energy and passion was palpable, helping Alabama right the ship and take down the top team in the conference.