Jumbo Package: Updating injuries and suspensions, a smart NFL decision, and the youth movement in Tuscaloosa.

Yeah, Coach. I don’t get it either.

Guess who leads the SEC in rushing and yards per carry: Alabama? Nope. Arkansas? Try again. Georgia? Not even close. Try Texas A&M. The new-look Aggies are ringing up 7+ YPC on the ground and 268 yards rushing per game.

Welcome to Baton Rouge, Coach Fisher. Fisher-to-LSU nearly happened last December. I’d be stunned if it’s anything other than a done deal at this point. “I'm not talking about LSU. No I haven't [had contact] and I'm not talking about it," Fisher said, "We're talking about North Carolina.” That’s not a denial, Jimbo.

Speaking of Fisher, Jimbo provided a superb, in-depth answer as to why Nick Saban is so successful. The Process is getting that “extra 1, 2, 3% more” out of your program and players, and it is about creating on off-the-field culture that is as demanding, maybe moreso, than what is on-the-field. It’s that latter part that takes the work, and which people are often unwilling to do, since human nature is to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor...unless you’re Nick Saban. The whole interview is excellent.

If you’re at the stadium, show some love: Dylan Moses, another Louisiana superstar-in-waiting who will be skipping town, is taking his official to Alabama this weekend.

Why did Damien Harris, the Bluegrass State’s first 5* player, choose Alabama over Ohio State and Kentucky (aside from the face it’s Kentucky?) Burton-freaking-Burns:

When he met Burns, the Alabama running backs coach made a convincing pitch that was all business "I'm going to teach you how to block, I'm going to teach you how to read the defense," Burns told Harris. "I'm going to teach you all these little things that will help you become a better player, not a better running back."

I don’t recall a recruiting class (since 2008, at least) where so many true freshmen are already seeing playing time. To date, 13 n00bs have seen action for the Crimson Tide this season.

Injury report: Damien Harris (ankle,) Robert Foster (knee) and ArDarius Stewart (knee) are all day-to-day. I would be surprised to see any of them this weekend, especially with Cam Sims trying to reestablish himself with the Ones, and with Joshua Jacobs, Bo Scarbrough, Derrick Gore, and B.J Emmons providing more than enough quality reps at running back.

He “always has the juice...he’s a maniac out there.” Welcome back, Mr. Tony Brown.

Special teams were, in fact, special this past weekend: In fact, they were nearly perfect. Griffith was perfect on kicks (including a 48-yard FGA,) Xavian Marks housed a punt for 75 yards, and JK Scott averaged 49 yards on his lonely two punts.

Well, I’ll be. The NFL finally listened to Saban and others who wanted to give Juniors as much possible early information as possible rather than assigning draft grades and prospectuses during bowl and championship prep. This is truly a gamechanger for those players at football factories who would otherwise see a season derailed when naturally looking towards their future when they should be focusing on that final game or two. From the Mothership:

Five underclassmen per program will be allowed to participate in their schools’ pro days next spring, where scores of NFL coaches and scouts come to watch. Then, NFL teams can keep scouting them as if they were already draft-eligible for their junior season, ideally putting less rush and more knowledge into their evaluation and decision-making processes.

If a team has more than five underclassmen who want the extra eyeballs, it can apply for more slots, "subject to the determination of the NFL that the players are legitimate draft prospects,"

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Here’s the new look for the JP (for me, at least.) SBN/Vox has created a new editor for its sites and, sadly, there is no clippy tool (as yet) that works with the application as far as embedding titles, links, and block quotes. We’ll get by for the next few months. Be strong, brothers and sisters.