Five Tide players named finalists for major awards

The finalists for the major end-of-season awards were announced late yesterday afternoon. And, as expected, the landscape is populated with Alabama players having monstrous seasons.

Here are the Tide players and the award nominations:

Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) — Quinnen Williams (DT), Jonah Williams (LT)

Davey O’Brien (Top Quarterback) — Tua Tagovailoa (QB)

Maxwell Award (Player of the Year) — Tua Tagovailoa (QB)

Biletnikoff Award (Top Wide Receiver) — Jerry Jeudy (WR)

Bednarik Award (Top Defensive Player) — Quinnen Williams

Dick Butkus Award (Top Linebacker) — Dylan Moses

The addition of Dylan Moses was...uhhh...interesting, to say the least. He has a lot of potential, but hasn’t even done enough to overtake Mack Wilson — who was not selected. Don’t get me wrong: if Moses accidentally wins, all the better for him. That will make up for Reggie Ragland getting robbed in 2015.

There were some snubs as well, particularly in the Mackey Award (Tight End) and Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back). Deionte Thompson, who has been outstanding all season, and is the No. 1 rated safety in the nation, may not have the raw stats of some other contenders, but that is largely because quarterbacks rarely even test him — he is a game-changer in the defensive backfield. But, by far the worst outing came from the Mackey Award finalists; the list is simply a disaster. Among those not selected as finalists were Iowa’s Noah Fant, A&M’s Jace Sternberger, and Alabama’s Irv Smith, Jr. — also known as “the three best tight ends in the country.”

Nevertheless, it should be a good haul for ‘Bama players in about a week and a half, and there are still far greater team goals looming on the horizon.

Best of luck to all, and Roll Tide.

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Programming Note: We expect to be up to full steam this week, content-wise. I had a nasty hand accident about a week and a half ago, so my output has been diminished. But, it’s largely healed and just in time to crank out Thanksgiving stuff for the masses. We’ll see you around 8 central for Meltdown; Random Thoughts around 9, and the JP at 10-ish. This evening we also have some college action and the CFP Committee selection show as well. Have a great day. RTR