Jumbo Package: Tide adds to the nation’s top class, beats out the ‘Dawgs for four-star back

Nick Saban has been positively giddy around the football complex these days. I know, I know — it sounds perverse. But, when you’re pulling in recruits at the clip Alabama is, with no signs of slowing down, that’s got to make you grin in the mirror each morning and say to yourself, “yeah, I still got it,”

Tuesday began the NCAA’s month-long mandated dead period began. But, simply because that stops all contacts outside of some texts, that doesn’t mean that players aren’t allowed to commit. And yesterday Alabama added to what looks to be an historic haul for 2019.

Alabama lands four-star RB recruit | AL.com

The 5-foot-9, 184-pound Robinson is the 17th rising high school senior to give a verbal pledge to the Crimson Tide.

He is rated by 247Sports as the No. 2 prospect in the Washington D.C. area and the 18th-best running back recruit in his class.

Robinson came to Alabama on an unofficial visit in early April and returned for a camp earlier this month.

That’s 17 players now committed to Alabama in advance of the early NSD period, with a ridiculous 15 of them being blue-chippers. BOL has a nice story here with Robinson too.

Robinson’s commitment comes on the heels of Carson Beck’s flip-and-commit from Florida to the Tide:

Alabama gets 2020 quarterback commit from Carson Beck | AL.com

Carson Beck, previously committed to play baseball at Florida, flipped to Alabama before his junior year. The Jacksonville, Florida product made the announcement via Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

Beck did not have a 247Sports star rating or class ranking. He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds.

He will play both baseball and football, according to the Twitter announcement.

Other football offers for Beck included Boston College, Florida, Florida Atlantic and Miami, according to 247Sports.

That is the fourth QB commit for 2020, but most expect this is a depth scholarship for football that doubles as aid for Brad Bohannon’s baseball squad (stupid 11.7 rule.) The Tide needs a lot of help on the diamond, and the big rightie 1B will add some pop to the lineup...in two years.

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The new Alabama nutrition complex is utterly insane:

Alabama gives you a tour of its new 25,000-square foot nutrition facility - FootballScoop

The hottest new restaurant in the entire south is set to open in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

It employs five specially trained chefs and four dietitians, more than 50 HD televisions and patio dining overlooking college football’s most scenic view. And get this: the food is free.

But there is a catch: the price of admission is a roster spot on an Alabama athletics team.

Yet, we can’t get a new basketball arena?

/side-eyes Greg Byrne

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I’m warning you now, and have done so the last few months: The greater immediate existential threat to Alabama’s reign in the West is not Jimbo’s Aggies, the troublesome Barn, or a physical LSU team that has played Alabama to near-draws the last the decade. No, the greater threat is Joe Moorhead’s Mississippi State Bulldogs. CLANGA has a good bit of talent on-hand, and MSU is presently listed as 3rd (!!!) on the Rivals recruiting rankings, ahead of UGA and second only behind Alabama in the SEC. Throw in an experienced defensive staff and Moorhead’s creative offenses, and this is a team to watch.

Nick Fitzgerald injury: Mississippi State QB eyes big return | SI.com

You know who’s particularly excited? The rehabbing Nick Fitzgerald. He’s poised for a great season if he can come into camp healthy.

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Avery Johnson Provides His Summer Progress Report on Alabama Basketball

Looking ahead to the season, Johnson highlighted what he expects to be a strong non-conference slate including games at home against Arizona, on the road at UCF and at Baylor as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

An important long-term issue for Alabama basketball is the future of Coleman Coliseum. Alabama’s head basketball coach noted the initial discussions concerning the future of the facility and what he thinks will happen with the Crimson Tide’s basketball home.

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Here’s an interesting tidbit about another Alabama rival. Let’s check in on the slowly-evolving march to a perpetual 8-4 that is the LSU Tigers:

Miami is just as in the dark about LSU’s offense as Ed Orgeron | NOLA.com

The quarterback race between sophomore Myles Brennan, fourth-year junior Justin McMillan and redshirt freshman Lowell Narcisse blew hot and cold all spring, culminating in the spring game when the offense wheezed and sputtered.

Now, there’s wildcard entry Ohio State graduate transfer QB Joe Burrow in the mix.

Finally, new Tigers’ offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger is installing a conventional pro-style offense after Orgeron’s one-year experiment of tolerating fired OC Matt Canada’s motion-filled schemes.

At this point, Orgeron doesn’t have a clue about how quick the offense will progress.

Interesting that as the rest of the of the nation gets more wide open, the Tigers doggedly stick to a formula that both won a lot of games and ran its most successful coach out of town.

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Football Study Hall ran its regression on best/worst coaches versus expected results. As we tried to argue, Dan Mullen isn’t a particular step up for Florida, neither overachieving nor underachieving. You know who else is right there in the muddled middle? Dabo Swinney: relative to the schedule, Clemson’s winning about the exact number of games it should. Surprisingly, Butch Jones won more than you would have expected...as has Nick Saban.

Spreadsheet enthusiasts, rejoice.

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Finally, congratulations to all of the Tide students that made the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Alabama Crimson Tide Athletics leads SEC with 136 student-athletes on Spring Academic Honor Roll

For the third year in a row, the University of Alabama led the Southeastern Conference’s Spring Academic Honor Roll with 136 accolades, the league office announced Wednesday. The Crimson Tide’s rowing team led the way with 40, the most of any program in the SEC this spring.

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This is my last Jumbo Package for a month, y’all — you’re stuck with Brent for now. And Josh will be handling the SEC Media Days in two weeks. I will pop in every now and again with something for you, but otherwise, I’m on a 90% sabbatical until I finish relocating my office, moving to my new house, and getting (another) Bar exam knocked out. But, I’ll see you in August, hopefully renewed in spirit (or as an exhausted, broken-down hot mess.)

Be excellent to one another. Roll Tide