Jumbo Package: Gump Day!

Well look at that, Alabama just swept the Kentucky Wildcats in basketball for the first time since 1988. If you missed it, check out my recap after the win last night:

And check out Coach Oats’ post-game press conference while you’re at it:

I loved his talk about Juwan Gary’s contributions being absolutely critical to the win, and already had some analytics on how he impacted the team.

The Tide keeps winning, and are looking more and more like a legitimate top-10 team.

Speaking of, looks like Alabama really isn’t just a football school.

Women’s track: No. 5

Men’s track: 8

Softball: No. 8

Gymnastics: No. 8

Men’s basketball: No. 9

Women’s golf: No. 11

Women’s swimming: No. 11

Men’s swimming: No. 16

Men’s golf: No. 16

Baseball: No. 25

#GumpHard

Najee Harris is just different, y’all.

If that grown-ass man is not one of the first 32 players selected in April, then NFL execs have officially lost their minds. I don’t care that the running back position has been devalued. This dude is a 6’2”, 230 lb. football player who will not only contribute at a high level in every part of your offense. He will gut out pain, lead at practice and in the weight room, serve in the community and is outstanding with the media. He is a difference maker, and one of the very best players in the draft. Don’t be stupid, people.

According to Chase Goodbread of NFL.com, Smith “declined” to be weighed and measured on Tuesday, preferring to wait until Alabama’s Pro Day.

That might be a first for a player who actually made the trip to Mobile, but the Heisman Trophy winner has some leverage that others don’t. Smith, who was listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds during his senior season at Alabama, will not play in Saturday’s game due to the finger injury he suffered in the national title game vs. Ohio State.

DeVonta is absolutely playing the system here. There won’t be a combine, so the only size measurements that will ever be made available on him will be what Alabama makes public. The ONLY thing that anyone will be able to “knock” him for on draft boards is his size. Everyone suspects he’s going to be a little smaller than his listed size, but nobody will no for sure until they draft him.

Watch the film, not the numbers.

Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith has already pictured himself in a Miami Dolphins uniform reuniting with former college teammate Tua Tagovailoa, and the thought could be mutual.

“We just talked about it would be nice to run it back again,” Smith told NFL Network after Tuesday’s practice at the Senior Bowl about the possibility of teaming up again with the Dolphins’ starting quarterback. “Not too much, but somewhat talked about it.”

The Dolphins hold the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, and the team has a big need for more explosive playmakers for Tagovailoa. Smith, who became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy since Desmond Howard in 1991 and only the second since 1940, would certainly fit that criterion.

While I think the Dolphins REALLY need some wide receiver help, and Smith would be a natural fit for Tua Tagovailoa to throw to, I also think they might need to focus on fixing their dumpster fire of an offensive line first.

On the heels of an unbeaten season and the national championship, Saban and the Crimson Tide will reload for the 2021 season with a coaching staff set to make college football history: Alabama’s new group is the first since the AFL-NFL merger in 1966 to include three former NFL head coaches.

One is Saban himself, who spent two seasons as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins before returning to college with the Crimson Tide in 2007.

Within the past week, Alabama has officially announced the addition of two new assistants with NFL experience: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien, who spent six-plus years as the head coach and about 10 months as general manager of the Houston Texans before being fired this past October, and offensive line coach Doug Marrone, the former head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.

While I’m still not a huge fan of the move for Bill O’Brien (more for worrying his reputation may hurt recruiting a little than for his actual coordinating ability), it’s still rather ridiculous that Alabama has three former NFL head coaches on staff now. The Tide just keeps pushing new limits.

That’s all for today. Roll Tide!