Jumbo Package: Gump Day!

With the Early Signing Day coverage taking up all the news today, I’ll keep this JP short and devoid of recruiting news.

ALABAMA NOTEBOOK: Bowl prep allows Tide to focus on just football

Senior Bowl invites

Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs and outside linebacker Christian Miller are the first two Alabama players to accept invitations to the 2019 Senior Bowl, it was announced last week. The game is set for Jan. 26, 2019.

Buggs has 41 tackles and leads the team with 9.5 sacks this season. Miller has 35 tackles and 7.5 sacks.

Congrats to Miller and Buggs. Both of them are guys that could really do their career some good in the senior bowl. They’re both prospects that have flashed talent and athleticism in their college career but have never quite put it together to become dominant forces. A strong showing in the senior bowl could be huge for either one.

What Alabama defense learned from Georgia struggles, other thoughts

-- Quinnen Williams gave one of the more interesting answers talking about the issues Alabama had defending Georgia in the SEC Championship. The Bulldogs’ 454 yards were the most surrendered by Alabama all season as the East Division champs scored touchdowns on four of five possessions in the second and third quarters.

-- What did Williams learn from that game tape? “The most physical team is going to win and the thing I took from the first half of the Georgia game, that first half, it was a physical game and the team who came out to win in the first half was the most physical team,” Williams said.

-- And how does that relate to Oklahoma on Dec. 29 in the Orange Bowl? “You can’t just wait to get punched in the mouth to react from it because some team isn’t going to react like Georgia,” Williams said. “I mean, Oklahoma has the most explosive offense in the country. So, it’s like, they’re not going to let up. I know for sure they’re not going to get tired. They’re not going to let up so if we get punched in the mouth by Oklahoma, you know what I’m saying, something isn’t going to go right. But if we come out and strike fast and strike hard and be the most physical team for 60 minutes, it’s going to go like the way we want it to go.”

Quinnen throwing veiled shade at the Georgia coaching job in the SEC championship game is absolutely what I needed to kick off my day right.

Alabama practice report: OLB returns to practice, new recruits involved

— Several members of the 2019 class were on the field. The early enrollees present were offensive lineman Pierce Quick, quarterback Paul Tyson, defensive lineman DJ Dale and receiver John Metchie. Unlike the older players, they were in shorts and jerseys because of the NCAA-mandated five-day acclimatization period.

What do you think the chances are that someone on the coaching staff is already preparing Paul Tyson to play Trevor Lawrence on the scout team for when Alabama and Clemson inevitably wind up matched up int he championship game again.

Alabama roots: 7 players earn Pro Bowl invitations

· New York Giants strong safety Landon Collins (Alabama)

· Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Dee Ford (St. Clair County, Auburn)

· Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (West Alabama)

· Chicago Bears free safety Eddie Jackson (Alabama)

· Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley, Alabama)

· Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker C.J. Mosley (Theodore, Alabama)

· Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (Athens)

Collins, Jackson and Jones were chosen as starters for the NFC team. Hill and Mosley made the starting lineup for the AFC all-stars.

Man, I never even realized Phillip Rivers had roots in Alabama. In any case, I’d say 7 players in the pro bowl is higher than the 1/50th it would be if the states had an even distribution of putting out talented football players. Alabama is just where football players are grown.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the recruiting coverage, and Roll Tide!