Jumbo Package: Softball Sweeps Five, Tide Players Compete at Combine

Happy Monday, everyone. While the men’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking defeat in Knoxville, it was otherwise a fine weekend for Alabama sports. The Gym Tide beat UGA, the baseball team got a much-needed sweep, and the softball team just keeps on rolling:

Alabama softball capped a successful weekend at the Easton Crimson Classic with a decisive 7-0 win over Jacksonville Sunday at Rhoads Stadium, stretching its current winning streak to 12 games.

Alabama (19-2) only scored two runs through the first five innings before the bats came alive with five runs in the final two innings off a pair of home runs by Gabby Callaway and Reagan Dykes. Jacksonville (11-9) was kept off the base paths until the fourth inning and only tallied three hits in a strong outing from Tide starter Sydney Littlejohn (7-0), who struck out a career-high 11 batters in the complete-game shutout.

Littlejohn and Lexi Osorio form one of the most dominant pitching duos in the country. The Tide are likely to go as far as they can take them.

Miller, who served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Charlotte Christian (N.C.) High School this past season, worked as a student assistant coach at Clemson in 2015 -- a job he landed thanks to former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker.

The former UAB Blazer quarterback (2011-12) is the second grad assistant to join the Crimson Tide program in less than a week, joining former Alabama safety Nick Perry.

Add another recruit to Saban’s Army.

Combine stuff:

The on-the-field work at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine concludes on Monday with the defensive backs hitting the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

NFL Network will televise the workouts from the annual event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST Monday.

The players will participate in the 40-yard dash, vertical and broad jumps, three-cone drill, shuttle run and position skill drills.

Tune in to watch Marlon Humphrey, if you like.

Foster was Alabama's leading tackler last season and a unanimous first-team All-American. He also won the Butkus Award, given to the nation's best linebacker.

He is recovering from recent rotator cuff surgery in his right shoulder and was not scheduled to participate in drills at the combine. In his video chat, Foster said he'd be out of the sling in a week.

"Everything ain't perfect," he said. "I'm good. I just have to think. I just had to sit back and relax and think about what I really want."

Foster said he's making himself available to any team that wants to speak with him on Tuesday, the day before Alabama's pro day in Tuscaloosa.

What a bizarre situation. Hopefully Foster can clear the air before draft day.

“Everything I worked hard for,” he said, “I feel like it was taken away from me.”

On top of his inability to play, Jackson felt his self-worth slide as the season went on. He watched helplessly as his name faded from NFL draft conversation.

“When I got hurt, people forgot about me,” he said.

Following the injury, Jackson did receive plenty of support from former Crimson Tide players and opponents, many of whom dealt with season-ending injuries of their own.

We never forgot about you, Eddie. You have a whole bunch of people rooting for you.

Howard's showing at his size - in addition to his weight, he measured 6-foot-6 tall - made him one of the workout standouts of Saturday's drills, which featured wide receivers and quarterbacks in addition to tight ends.

Howard's 4.51 was the second-fastest time among the tight ends on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Ole Miss' Evan Engram was the fastest tight end at 4.42 seconds.

By all accounts, O.J. has pretty well cemented himself as a first rounder.

Allen is projected as a likely high pick in the NFL Draft on April 27 in Philadelphia, perhaps the first or second player selected. After turning in 21 repetitions in the bench press on Saturday, Allen had a 5.00-second 40, a 30-inch vertical jump, 108-inch broad jump, 7.49-second three-cone drill and 4.50-second shuttle run on Sunday. His highest placement among the defensive linemen was 28^th-best in the shuttle run.

Allen’s 40 time was a little slower than expected, though he did nothing to reduce his draft stock. Some teams reportedly have reservations about his arthritic shoulder, but he’s still a shoo-in for the top half of the first round.

Even if Anderson isn't a threat to the record book, he's not sleeping through the testing.

"I'm going to go out there and compete," he said. "I'm not bologna sandwich at the same time. I ain't no slouch."

ESPN ranks Anderson as the No. 5 outside linebacker in the draft. NFL.com has him going as early as the mid-second round.

On the field, with the helmets and pads, Anderson described his style simply.

"Destroy anybody in front of me," he said with a smile.

Something tells me Ryan is going to be a quote machine when he gets to the league.

Basketball futures bring home hardware:

The latest Petty performance featured 22 points and 11 rebounds as Mae Jemison won 58-52 in the Class 5A finals at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. Petty led J.O. Johnson past Faith Academy 71-50 in last season's state championship game and 57-40 in the 2015 semifinals. Jemison replaced Johnson in Huntsville.

"When the tough gets going, he gets going," Doss said of Petty. "We've got a good surrounding cast, too."

Two years ago, Jones, coached by his father, fell to Sacred Heart in the Class 1A state championship game before Sunshine closed its doors permanently.

"It was really the most important thing to me to finish," the University of Alabama signee, who finished with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, said. "When I was at Sunshine, our slogan was finishing strong, and I guess it carried over to Hale County."

Petty is now a three-time state champion. The reinforcements can’t get here soon enough.

That’s about it for today. Have a great week.

Roll Tide.