Tag: Alabama Crimson Tide

Should Tua Tagovailoa enter the 2020 NFL Draft?

Many believe Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has taken his last snaps in a Crimson Tide uniform, after injuring his hip in a contest against Mississippi State which resulted in season-ending surgery. The question that continues to loom is if he …

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Many believe Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has taken his last snaps in a Crimson Tide uniform, after injuring his hip in a contest against Mississippi State which resulted in season-ending surgery.

The question that continues to loom is if he should enter the 2020 NFL Draft and forego his senior season, or rehabilitate his injury and play one more year at the collegiate level before going pro.

Yahoo! Sports college football analyst, Pete Thamel, weighed in on what it would mean for Tagovailoa, financially, and the ramifications of his future decision.

Thamel explains that Tagovailoa was clearly one of the best quarterbacks eligible for the draft and probably the No. 1 overall pick.

With this season-ending injury, among other health issues he’s had in the last two years, teams may be thinking twice in 2020 about selecting him early.

“It’s very difficult, you don’t know what you’re drafting,” said a veteran NFL executive. “I see him maybe going toward the end of the first round.”

Being selected towards the end of the first round is still not bad, but having been projected to be the first player taken, it has to hurt your morale.

But there’s more than just morale involved, as Thamel goes on to explain.

The difference in the money from being the No. 1 overall pick to the No. 32 overall pick in the first round could cost Tagovailoa more the $25 million.

It is expected that his recovery could take upwards of six months. As Thamel explained in his piece, this would mean NFL teams won’t have the opportunity to see Tagovailoa before the draft.

This is a very heavy draft class when it comes to quarter backs.

Names like Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert and others are expected to go in the first round.

This is also a very “quarter back friendly” draft. Many teams are either looking for their quick-fix at the position now, or they are seeking out the future signal caller for their franchise.

Should Tagovailoa decide to enter the draft now and leave his final year of eligibility behind, he will almost certainly not be the first quarterback taken, and will likely fall late in the first round, as the one senior NFL executive had claimed.

However, if he is looking for one more year to prepare and fully heal before entering the NFL, he could stay with Nick Saban at Alabama one more year and enter the less-crowded quarterback class of the 2021 NFL Draft.

There are a lot of concerns surrounding this decision, because if he goes pro now, then the question asked would be “Well, where would he be if he stayed one more year?”

If he stays at Alabama he runs the risk of furthering any of his current injuries and damaging his draft stock even more, or he may even not play at the same level he has been over the last two seasons, which could cause him to drop even further in the draft.

This is something Tagovailoa will have some time to think about and talk over with his family to see what the best course of action may be.

For now, all we can do is speculate and weigh the options visible to us.

 

What the CFP Selection Committee Taught Us: Poll Mentality

The College Football Playoff selection committee has released its third rankings of the year. What hints did they give us for the future?

The College Football Playoff claims that the selection committee “starts from scratch” every week, judging each team and each resume like new each week. The committee’s rankings the past two weeks, though, show that’s not what it is doing. The selection committee came up with its first rankings two weeks ago. That set of rankings seemed to be based on resume more than what the human polls usually do. Since then, though, the committee has very clearly just been sticking to those rankings–moving down teams that lose, and maybe giving a team a bonus for a big win.

How do I know this? It’s simple. If the committee really started from scratch each week, you would see shifts in the rankings. A team would jump a team for seemingly no reason. But it’s not no reason, as resumes change every week. For example, Ohio State’s season opponents went 6-3 on the week, and all three of those losses came to teams that Ohio State also played. The Buckeyes have a stronger resume this week than last week, even though all the Buckeyes themselves did was play Rutgers. These types of things should cause small shifts in the rankings week to week. That’s not happening, which means that the committee is relying on what they thought last week, not starting from scratch every week.

There were only ten real changes in the rankings this week. Minnesota, Baylor, and Auburn all dropped a bit for picking up losses to other good teams. Iowa gained three spots for beating Top 10 Minnesota. Cincinnati slipped a spot (and lost a second spot to Iowa’s jump) after struggling with a weak opponent for the second time in three weeks. Texas, Navy, and Kansas State all fell out with losses. Iowa State and USC both jumped Appalachian State–which makes sense, since the Mountaineers don’t have any resume worthy of being in the rankings in the first place.

None of these are examples of looking at the whole season and starting from scratch. Every single one of these ranking changes is a direct reaction to what happened on the field this week. Hopefully the committee will start from scratch when the all-important final rankings come out in three weeks, but the committee’s outlook the past two weeks has not been encouraging.

Next…The Penn State and Alabama problems

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Alabama still at No. 5 in latest College Football Playoff rankings

The Alabama Crimson Tide didn’t drop in the latest College Football Playoff rankings after a dominating Mississippi State on Saturday.

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Alabama is fresh off a dominate 38-7 road victory over Mississippi State, which is probably why the College Football Playoff committee left them at No. 5 in the latest rankings.

On Tuesday night, it was revealed that Alabama had not dropped despite the news that star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had been lost for the season due to a hip injury.

Here is how the rankings check out:

There had been some speculation that a team like Oregon, who has impressed over the last few weeks, could jump the Crimson Tide for that No. 5 spot, but it looks like the committee isn’t ready to count them out.

Surprisingly, the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t make a move up after making an epic 28-3 comeback against Baylor, who is now ranked No. 14 after the loss.

Auburn, who will be Alabama’s last opponent of the regular season a week from Saturday, only dropped a couple of spots to No. 15 after Georgia handed the Tigers their third loss of the season.

Things are still wide open in the race for who makes the College Football Playoff, and from the looks of things, the Crimson Tide are still in the mix.

Stay tuned for more analysis and breakdowns of the rankings from Roll Tide Wire!

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Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith named Biletnikoff Award semifinalists

Alabama Crimson Tide wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith were named two of the 12 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award.

Alabama Crimson Tide wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith were named two of the 12 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which is awarded to the season’s most outstanding college football receiver regardless of position.

Jeudy, who won the Biletnikoff Award last year, currently has 867 receiving yards and 9 TDs. Smith, who has also emerged as one of the offensive leaders for the Tide this season, has 1,026 yards and 11 TDs.

Besides Jerry Jeudy, the only other Alabama player to win the Biletnikoff Award is Amari Cooper, who won the award in 2014.

The winner of the Biletnikoff  Award will be announced on December 12.

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CFB150: Top three programs of the 21st century

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg gives his opinion on which teams have stood out to be the most dominant during the 21st century.

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg gives his opinion on which teams have stood out to be the most dominant during the 21st century.

Tua Tagovailoa’s parents release statement thanking Alabama Nation

Tua Tagovailoa’s parents, Galu and Diane Tagovailoa, issued a heartfelt statement full of appreciation and gratitude.

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Just days after their son suffered a season ending injury, Tua Tagovailoa’s parents, Galu and Diane Tagovailoa, issued a heartfelt statement full of appreciation and gratitude for everyone’s prayers, support, and love.

Tagovailoa, who suffered a dislocated hip during Saturday’s game against Mississippi State, is expected to make a full recovery.

Alabama’s team orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Lyle Cain  issued this statement regarding Tagovailoa’s status, “The procedure went as planned, and he is resting comfortably. Tua’s prognosis is excellent, and we expect him to make a full recovery.”

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WATCH: Calvin Ridley scores fifth touchdown of the year

Former Alabama star receiver, Calvin Ridley, scored his fifth touchdown of the year in the Atlanta Falcons contest against the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons beat the Panthers with a final score of 29-3 to improve their record to 3-7 on the season. …

Former Alabama star receiver, Calvin Ridley, scored his fifth touchdown of the year in the Atlanta Falcons contest against the Carolina Panthers.

The Falcons beat the Panthers with a final score of 29-3 to improve their record to 3-7 on the season.

Matt Ryan found Ridley in the back corner of the endzone to increase the lead to 26-0.

In the game, Ridley reeled in eight receptions for an impressive 143 yards and the lone touchdown.

Ridley has been the main contributor to this Falcons offense, that has had a rough time getting off the ground. If his production can stay this high, who knows where the future of the Falcons may lie.

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BREAKING: Alabama CB Scooby Carter enters transfer portal

Alabama could be losing a member of its 2019 recruiting class in DB Scooby Carter, who announced he’d be entering the transfer portal.

Alabama could lose one of the key members in its 2019 recruiting class, as true freshman defensive back Scooby Carter announced via his Twitter account that he would be entering the transfer portal.

That news, of course, was announced on Monday night.

The 6-foot, 186-pound corner was a top 100 prospect coming out of Mansfield Legacy High School in Mansfield (Tex.). According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Carter was rated as the No. 91 overall player, No. 9 cornerback and No. 15 player from the state of Texas.

Gabe Brooks with 247Sports had described him as a “long, lean and very athletic prospect who projects as a true cornerback at the high-major level.”

Unfortunately for Carter, Alabama had a lot of veteran leadership returning at cornerback with Trevon Diggs, Patrick Surtain II, Shyheim Carter, Josh Jobe and Jalyn Armour-Davis all still ahead of him on the depth chart.

Hopefully, Carter is able to land somewhere that will be able to give him the opportunity to see the field, whether that is in 2020 or beyond.

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Georgia football target, second overall recruit sets commitment date

Georgia Bulldogs recruiting target Jordan Burch set his commitment date. UGA, Clemson, Bama, LSU, and South Carolina are his top five.

Jordan Burch, the second-ranked recruit in the country, announced his commitment date today via Twitter. Burch is a five-star prospect, who has been heavily recruited by Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Burch is an athletic defensive-end with a solid build. He also plays basketball and is from Columbia, South Carolina. He plays high school football at Hammond School.

Burch’s commitment is still a month away:

In Burch’s top schools are: LSU, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and South Carolina. He’s projected to join the stacked Clemson Tigers class of 2020. Burch officially visited Georgia in May.

Burch would be an elite addition to Georgia’s talented class of 2020. The Dawgs are still seeking around 8-9 more commitments in their top ten ranked recruiting class.

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Alabama gets 2020 basketball recruiting started with 4-star F Keon Ambrose-Hylton

Keon Ambrose-Hylton, one of the top prep basketball prospects out of Canada, became Alabama’s first commitment in the Class of 2020 when he picked the Crimson Tide ahead of North Carolina State and others.

It took Alabama a little while to break through with the 2020 basketball recruiting class. When the Crimson Tide finally did strike Sunday, the new member of their class resonated.

Four-star forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton, one of the top prospects in Canada at Toronto’s Andrews Osborne Academy, committed to Alabama from among a final five that also included North Carolina State, USC, Arkansas and Dayton. The Tide stuck out from that list because of the commitment they made to recruiting Ambrose-Hylton and building a genuine relationship with him, per the guard.

“Coach Bryan [Hodgson] is a great guy,” Ambrose-Hylton told 247Sports. “When he first came to the gym he was looking at Charles [Bediako] and then he saw me play and offered me immediately. Since then it’s been a real relationship.”

“They’ve been to a lot of my games and I enjoyed my visit with them. I enjoy the coaching staff a lot, hanging out laughing and not just about basketball, I just have a great time being there.”

Another key factor that drew Ambrose-Hylton to Alabama? His hopeful transition to guard in college. While the Canadian currently plays predominantly as a power forward, he said the Crimson Tide coaching staff presented him with a plan to transition his skills into a more guard-focused package.

Success there could pave the way to the next level, which made Ambrose-Hylton’s decision far easier.

“They said how they see my game thoroughly and see my numbers and think they can develop me into a guard,” Ambrose-Hylton told 247Sports. “They really love the way I play. Their playing style really fits me and what I can become.”