Jumbo Package: Gump Day!

Tide leads Crystal Ball for nation’s No. 1 DB

Hill’s older brother Justice plays for Oklahoma State, but that clearly hasn’t deterred the younger Hill from looking elsewhere beyond Oklahoma.

On the 5-star DB’s official visit to Tuscaloosa, Hill says it was “eye-opening,” especially getting to spend time with a fellow Tulsa native in UA junior running back Josh Jacobs.

“He said it’s a great place,” Hill said. “He said it was kind of an adjustment for him coming out of Oklahoma, but he said after a couple of months it felt like home for him. He was just saying it’s a great place, a college town, and everything is enjoyable there. He said people will say negative things about it, but when you go on campus and experience it as a player it’s a whole different type of deal.

“He was just showing me different things of how life will be once you leave your state. Just hanging out with Josh kind of opened my eyes a little bit of how things can be similar and different from where I’m at right now.”

As CB mentioned in his post yesterday it seems unlikely that Hill will actually go anywhere other than Oklahoma. However, the talking heads seem to be more optimistic about his likelihood of coming to Alabama. It seems he bonded with Josh Jacobs, who helped assuage any fears he might have of such a big move.

That said, his tone just seems off to me, and I think I have to agree with CB here. I’m just not feeling we wind up pulling him in.

Alabama hosting Top 50 prospect on Tuesday

“They have a very good shot,” Ealy said earlier in the spring when asked if Bama had a good chance to change his mind.

The Tide’s running back situation has since changed significantly with 4-star back Keilan Robinson joining the fold last month. Not only that, Alabama is trending to regain its former commitment in 5-star ball carrier Trey Sanders.

Some believe Ealy may bypass college and go pro in baseball.

“It’s on the table,” he said earlier this year. “But we’ll cross that bridge whenever we get there. I want to play college football.”

At 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, Ealy is rated the No. 3 running back and the No. 49 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings.

It seems odd to me that Saban is recruiting so many of the smaller all-purpose backs lately. The 2018 class had both Slade Bolden and Jerome Ford (though Bolden may end up being a receiver or safety). Now Robinson is already in the folds for 2019, and Ealy is on the board as well. You have to think that if Ealy does commit, then Robinson will be encouraged to look elsewhere as Alabama spends time recruiting the more conventional running back in Trey Sanders.

Alabama lands 2020 TE Caden Clark

The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder chose Alabama over Kentucky, Michigan and West Virginia, over several others.

Clark announced his decision on Twitter:

”First I want to thank God for giving me the ability to play this great game and blessing me with a great family to support me and my decisions. My beautiful mom and great dad have got me to where I’m at today and I couldn’t be more thankful for all that they have sacrificed for my brother and I. I also want to thank my head coach Tim Tyrell for always being there for me through it all and because of these people I’m proud to announce my commitment to the University of Alabama.”

Clark is rated the No. 6 tight end and the No. 344 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Meanwhile, the 2020 class just picked up another commitment. Nothing too big, but he’s a good-sized tight end with the potential to develop into a well-rounded tight end in the future.

I mean, you really never can have too many tight ends you won’t pass the ball to.

The case for Jalen Hurts to be Alabama’s starting quarterback

Joe Namath was Alabama’s starting quarterback for three seasons. During that time the Crimson Tide won 29 games, and a mythical national championship.

AJ McCarron won 36 games as a starter over three seasons, and quarterbacked two BCS national championships.

Jalen Hurts has won 26 games before his junior season, and led Alabama to two College Football Playoff national championship games. He is, by all accounting, one of the best quarterbacks in the history of Alabama football. In a season of transitions for Alabama both offensively and defensively, Nick Saban can’t afford to leave that kind of experience on the bench.

Talk about REALLY trying to stir the pot, now AL.com is over here making competing articles on supporting either Jalen or Tua. We’re above such things here at RBR, where we strive for nothing less than insightful analysis with never a thought of placing stirring headlines just to up our page views and stir up arguments.

Lastly, here’s a hype video to get you all excited for the fact that fall camps begins in two days.

Roll Tide!