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Jumbo Package: Tuesday 14 April 2015

News, etc.

Starting QB? Not so fast.
Starting QB? Not so fast.
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Saban still looking for his quarterback - SEC Blog - ESPN

"We're giving five quarterbacks a chance to play and no one has stood out to where you'd say 'That's the guy,'" Saban told reporters Saturday. "The issue is finding the one who can do it with the most consistency. It's like the guy [in baseball] who shows he can hit a home run. The good home run hitters hit a home run more often than the other guys. "We're looking for the guy who can do it consistently and shows he can play winning football."

Count me among those pumping the brakes a bit on the whole "Cornwell has won the job but Saban won't say it" idea. Don't get me wrong, I love David's potential and have lamented the fact that so many were ready to push Blake Barnett past him from day one, but he is still a redshirt freshman coming off a season where his reps were limited as he recovered from a knee injury. Yes, Saban had glowing remarks about him but he was also asked a question directly about Cornwell and has at times this spring said similar things about Jake Coker. Cornwell may well win the job, but for my money Coker still has to be the leader. We'll know a bit more after Saturday, but there is still a long way to go in this one.

Why Nick Saban is encouraged, but not satisfied with former No. 1 recruit | AL.com


Two years after arriving in Tuscaloosa, the Monaca, Penn., product is developing into those five-star projections. With Cooper, DeAndrew White and Christion Jones pursuing the NFL, Foster appears to be the best play-making threat among Alabama receivers. He's coming off a six-catch, 102-yard scrimmage entering the 2 p.m. Saturday A-Day Game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Working with the first team alongside Chris Black, Foster received optimistic reviews from Nick Saban.

Many have been looking for both Foster and Black to break out, and both will have their opportunity to shine this season. They certainly have the tools, whether Alabama has an elite receiving corps this season will come down to their commitment and execution. Early returns look good.

What do college football’s top coaches think about proposal for early signing period? | College recruiting blog

LSU's Les Miles: In other words, the last weekend in November without the official visit to the campus. In other words, let’s just say 10 players want to go to LSU. They’ve known that their whole life. Their family went there. Their brothers went there. There’s really no other place they want to go. They’ve not have an official visit, and they’ve committed. They would love to sign as soon as they could. Let’s give them that opportunity

Translation: "In other words, I'd really like to get the signature before Nick gets over here and poaches more of my players." No word from Saban here, he reportedly didn't have time for this minutae.

Alabama's Mr. Basketball Dazon Ingram pushes back commitment date | AL.com

New Alabama coach Avery Johnson and assistant Antoine Pettway, who was held over from Grant's staff, visited Ingram and his family Thursday night. Ingram said the visit went well but stopped short of committing or saying Alabama was the leader for his services. Over the weekend, some new options may have opened for the 6-foot-5 point guard. He tweeted Saturday that Kentucky coach John Calipari contacted him after the Wildcats lost seven underclassmen from their national semifinal team.

Uh oh. I'm afraid that for basketball recruits, when the University of Kentucky calls, you pick up the phone. This signature may have become quite a bit more difficult.

College experience contributed to Avery Johnson's offensive philosophy | AL.com

"I'm used to the 24-second shot clock," Johnson said, "and I'm used to getting good shots in the 24-second shot clock. I'd like to adopt that same philosophy, especially offensively, here. I come from an environment with the Spurs where it's been about great ball movement and player movement. We adopted a lot of those qualities when I [coached] with the Mavericks."

No more last second heaves as the shot clock expires? Sounds good to me.

Nick Saban talks ‘younger generation that doesn’t always get told no’ | CollegeFootballTalk

His message, though, gets muddled when he keeps a player twice convicted of driving drunk on his squad.  And, in the process, perpetuates the "I can do whatever I want to do" attitude that he both laments and chastises.

Oh look, another hot take. Saban is such an enabler, y'all.

2015 NFL draft rankings: Alabama safety Landon Collins - NFL - SI.com

One element of Collins's story that does match Taylor's rise is the hype that has followed him into the draft. Taylor was selected with the fifth pick by Washington in 2004; the next safety did not come off the board for another 39 picks, when Bob Sanders went to the Colts. There could be a similar gap between Collins and whichever safety is selected next this year.

Collins is going to make a lot of money very soon. He certainly isn't completely polished, but the talent has always been there. Good luck to him.

Charles Barkley talks fame, social media at SXSW; Holtz out at ESPN | SI.com

SI.com learned over the weekend that ESPN has parted ways with Lou Holtz, who had been a college football studio analyst with the network since 2004 and worked most notably with host Rece Davis and analyst Mark May on ESPN’s Saturday College Football Final pregame, halftime and postgame studio coverage. Holtz was also a regular contributor to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio. The decision, according to sources, was closer to a mutual agreement between the parties than Holtz getting forced out. The 78-year-old said last May that he would retire from broadcasting after the 2014 season though at the time the network said Holtz had not informed them of such thinking.

I've poked fun at Lou as much as anyone over the years, but the man is doing pretty well at age 78. It's time for him to hang 'em up and enjoy retired life.