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Happy Monday, everyone. Pickings are slim this week as the players take some much needed time off before kicking off bowl practice, which will likely start at some point this week though no date has been announced. In the meantime, we do have some morning reading for you:
Jonathan Allen IDs Alabama freshman to watch, surprising toughest SEC O-line faced | AL.com
"Quinnen Williams," Allen said confidently. "That's the guy you need to know. He's going to be a baller. He's going to be a beast." The Birmingham product and Wenonah graduate appears to be redshirting as he's without game action thus far. He came to Alabama as a four-star prospect and the No. 16 defensive tackle in the 247Sports composite of recruiting rankings. The reasoning for Allen's praise is simple enough. "Just tenacity," Allen said. "Just toughness. Just gritty. Just mean. He's going to be good."
As mentioned before, I have it on good authority that Williams did, in fact, choose to redshirt when offered rather than waste a year of eligibility playing a bit role. He and Ben Davis have both added around twenty pounds of good weight while watching and learning. It's easy to forget that Marlon Humphrey took this same path and was ready to roll the very next season. Don't be surprised if both players are ready to contribute in a big way as redshirt freshmen in 2017.
Resilience gains respect: Jalen Hurts shows ability to bounce back
University of Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts had just been blindsided by Ole Miss linebacker Marquis Haynes, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound hybrid linebacker/defensive end, who came in untouched off the right edge of UA's offensive line. Haynes lowered his helmet just underneath Hurts' chin and, with a crushing blow, separated Hurts from the ball, which Ole Miss picked up and ran for a touchdown to extend its lead to 24-3.
Hurts calmly got up and casually jogged to the sideline. He didn't lie on the ground and sulk, although no one would've blamed him, as hard as he had been hit. He didn't yell at his offensive line, which messed up the protection. He didn't petition the referee for a targeting call, although certainly one could have been made.
No, instead Hurts went to the sideline and gathered himself and his teammates for a couple of minutes, and then went out and led one of the most important drives of the season.
This is a nice read from Aaron Suttles. There are some warts in his game, but there is no questioning Jalen's poise.
CECIL HURT: Many deserving of Heisman
There are changes that I would like to see in the process. First and foremost, the season isn't over and yet we've already voted on the biggest individual award. That's a remnant of a time when the postseason was considered a separate entity. The Associated Press used to choose its national champion before the bowl games, too, but it stopped doing that a half-century ago. If the AP can change, the Heisman Trophy Trust can change, too. It would be great to have a chance to see Lamar Jackson go against the LSU defense, to watch how Jonathan Allen affects a playoff game, to see if DeShaun Watson — who was on my ballot last year and would have been No. 4 this year if we had a fourth slot — can lead Clemson to a CFP Championship. Those things make a big difference. At least they should.
Interesting thought from Cecil, though I'm not sure Saban would agree since he believes that there is already too much emphasis on the playoff. What say you? Should the major awards be presented after all of the bowl games are completed? Answer the poll and tell us in the comments.
Alabama 5-star LB commit Dylan Moses ends recruitment, signs financial aid agreement with Tide
"I thank every college that has given me the opportunity to live out my dreams and pursue a college education," Moses said. "From this point, I'll continue my training to get ready to participate in the Under Armour All-American game and then afterwards report to campus Jan. 8 to start the spring semester as an early enrollee. Like I always say, the best is yet to come. God Bless and Roll Tide."
LSU message boards were all a-flutter when Moses took an official to LSU on the final weekend before the dead period, though the Alabama recruiting analysts remained 100% confident in his pledge. He showed up, completed his visit, then faxed in his aid paperwork to Alabama and plans to enroll in January. Being that his family is in Baton Rouge, there is a decent chance that the LSU visit was nothing more than a free plane ride home to see family before practices start. Smart move, Dylan. You and Christopher Allen will both enjoy whipping the hometown team in future years.
Alabama lands commitment from 2018 defensive end Jordan Davis | AL.com
Jordan Davis, a class of 2018 prospect from Memphis, Tenn., announced his commitment to Alabama on Saturday. Davis is a 6-foot-6, 240-pound defensive end/outside linebacker from Southwind High School. He is rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.
Pay little attention to recruiting rankings this far out, as they tend to be very fluid. If Saban is making a committable offer this soon, the young man is probably a player.
Saban took a trip to Grayson High School in Georgia, which just so happens to be a football factory that has produced first round pick Robert Nkemdiche and current Clemson running back Wayne Gallman in recent years. But if this story were just about a Saban trip, we wouldn't be writing about it. Because not only did Saban show up, he did it in the most swag-a-licious way possible: By landing his helicopter on the 50-yard line of the school's football field
How about that? Saban is pulling a little swag-copter action.
Kiffin’s relationship with Alabama and head coach Nick Saban thrived on the field over the past three seasons, but he’s in the final year of a contract that Bama did not extend earlier this fall. Kiffin is expected to receive a significant, multi-year contract if hired at LSU, part of a plan laid out by Orgeron during a meeting with university leaders a day before they named him the full-time head coach last month.
This is a point that seems to get lost in the rumors. When we ask why Lane would take a lateral, we may not be considering that he may not be welcomed back to Alabama for whatever reason. It could be that Saban didn't want to extend him past February.
WATCH: John Cena, SNL mock Alabama and college football in hilarious sketch - CBSSports.com
With the Heisman Trophy ceremony taking place in New York on Saturday night, it wasn't hard to predict that Saturday Night Live would have college football on its mind this week. And it did. The show, hosted by WWE superstar John Cena, performed a skit mocking the "student" part of student-athlete, and it chose Alabama specifically as its target.
If you didn't watch this, it is mildly amusing. Still, SNL is a shell of its former self.
AL.com instant analysis: Late 3 propels No. 24 Oregon past Alabama | AL.com
Making his first start of the season, Alabama sophomore forward Donta Hall scored a career- and team-high 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting while tying for the team-lead with seven rebounds. Two Hall dunks cut Oregon's lead from 53-48 to 53-52. Hall then gave the Tide a 54-53 lead with an up-and-under layup after grabbing an offensive rebound. Another Hall dunk tied the score at 56 a minute later with 3:15 remaining.
Hall's breakout game was very encouraging. The team still has a long way to go offensively, starting with the deep shots. Perhaps we won't shoot 19 three pointers in future contests if we only plan to make two of them.
That's about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.