Nate Oats throws a Horns Down at Alabama-Texas game

With Texas coming to Tuscaloosa, a certain hand signal has taken over. It’s all Horns Down for the Alabama fans, something everyone uses when facing off against the Longhorns. Plenty have been thrown inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium but arguably none are better than the one from Nate Oats.

The Alabama men’s basketball head coach was in the crowd on Saturday night and was seemingly interacting with a fan. Someone found a way to snap a photo of Oats signaling Horns Down, truly showing his allegiance to Alabama. He happened to be positioned in front of a couple of Texas fans too, potentially having some fun with them.

It’s a huge night for the football program and Oats is fully behind them. Something every athletic director would want to see across the school’s different sports. Nick Saban might not be the biggest fan of the hand gesture, something we found out after last year’s game.

But Alabama fans will absolutely love to see from the men’s basketball head coach.

You can check out the photo of Oats here.

He’s all of us rn 🤘⬇️@nate_oats pic.twitter.com/HkxxoBKXIZ

— BK (@_bennettkelly) September 9, 2023

Since Oats took over the basketball program, Alabama and Texas have never crossed paths on the basketball court. There would have been an opportunity in the 2021 NCAA Tournament but the Shaka Smart-led Longhorns suffered a surprising first-round loss. Otherwise, there has not been anything between the two schools.

When Texas fired Chris Beard in the middle of this past season, Oats’ name was linked to the job. Athletic director Chris Del Conte was thought to be conducting a nationwide search to find the next head coach. Of course, Rodney Terry wound up being the hire following a Big 12 Tournament championship and an Elite Eight appearance.

Oats did receive a contract extension out of the situation though, securing his future with Alabama. Something the Crimson Tide likely would have done anyway after winning two more SEC championships and securing the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

While the success of the basketball program is welcomed in Tuscaloosa, winning on Saturday is currently the No. 1 priority. Saban is facing off against Texas for the third time in his Alabama tenure and is looking to remain undefeated. A 2009 national championship victory and last year’s game in Austin were a great way to get started.

Oats will be there on the sideline, flashing a few more Horns Down signals along the way.