Jumbo Package: Gump Day!

Four Alabama players named AP midseason All-Americans

It wasn’t Tua Tagovailoa or any of the numerous other Crimson Tide players that were selected preseason All-American or preseason All-SEC.

It was DeVonta Smith, the junior wide receiver who leads the SEC with nine receiving touchdowns while also ranking second in the conference with 636 receiving yards.

So Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy, and Jedrick Wills, Jr. weren’t worthy of first-team All-American selections, huh? Now, granted, Joe Burrow has been phenomenal at QB for 6 games, so I guess we can’t complain about that one too much. And Alex Leatherwood has been similarly amazing at left tackle to bookend Wills. Please show me a better pair of offensive tackles than those two.

Landon Dickerson still at center as Tide weigh options

“Hopefully, Chris (Owens) will be able to do some things this week, and we’ll have some kind of decision to make toward the end of the week as to how we go forward at that position.”

Before practice Tuesday, Dickerson did not yet know his role for Saturday’s game against Tennessee.

“I thought it went pretty well,” he said of his performance against Texas A&M. “A lot of things I need to work on, a lot of things I’ve got to improve this week, assuming that’s where I stay for this game. That’s yet to be determined. But still, just in general, a lot of things whether it be communication, fundamentals, anything really. I’ve got a lot of stuff to work on.”

I’ve been on the Chris Owens bandwagon ever since he signed with Alabama. His performance in the All-Star games as a high school senior impressed me more than most any offensive line prospect I’ve watched before or after. But, I have to admit, the Neal, Dickerson, Cornbread combo in the center of the line did really well last week. Might Owens get Wally-Pipped? It seems like a very real possibility. As of now, it looks like he’s continuing to work with the second team.

Alabama grooming energetic Christian Barmore for pass-rush role

Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Christian Barmore energizes the Crimson Tide defense.

“He brings a lot of energy,” linebacker Terrell Lewis said. “He’s a high motor guy, just as far as you know he’s going to come in and play hard. We just need to carry him along, too, because he’s another younger guy. But as far as talent and motor-wise, we love having him on the field, and he brings great energy to us. He turns the whole defense up, in my opinion.”

Speaking of players I’ve been high on since they were in high school, Barmore was one of my favorites in the 2018 class. The number one trait I look for in linemen and any defensive player is how chaotic they are (for example, Jedrick Wills. Wherever he is, there’s likely an opponent on the ground nearby). And Barmore is chaotic and explosive. He had some work to do to develop anything more than a bull rush as a high school pass-rusher, but his ability to translate speed to power was second to none. I expect to see a lot of Barmore in pass-rush packages this year as he continues to develop.

What you can expect when new Bryant-Denny Stadium lights debut in Tennessee game

Musco Lighting said the lighting level double the old lights’ capability

“Yes, they are going to notice it,” Musco’s key account manager Vaughn Blythe told AL.com in August. “It’s going to be more crisp, more aesthetically pleasing and that goes more to our glare control and how we control glare to the players and the fans. It will feel more like a theater.”

The lights are also designed to improve the experience for those watching on TV with improved brightness matching high definition displays.

There’s also the capability to change colors and sync the lighting to music. Those effects would only be used during timeouts though safety Xavier McKinney said it should help pump things up on the sideline.

The changing colors get all the press, but the upgrade in regular lighting is going to be a major improvement for Bryant-Denny. It took an 8:00 kick-off to see it, but it will absolutely be worth the wait to see.

XFL Draft warms up to defensive players with Alabama football roots

The XFL went through three rounds of the defensive-front-seven stage of its inaugural draft on Tuesday without selecting any linemen or linebackers with Alabama football roots. Then the league’s teams took six players from the state’s high schools and colleges before the end of the day’s selections.

The XFL is conducting its draft in five stages. Skill position, offensive line and defensive front seven players were chosen in separate 10-round sessions on Tuesday. On Wednesday, another 10-round stage will be held for defensive backs before a 30-round stage during which teams can select players at any position.

Former Enterprise High School standout and NFL veteran T.J. Barnes was the first player with Alabama football roots chosen in the final stage of Tuesday’s picks, breaking the ice for the state’s defenders in the fourth round.

· End Adrian Hubbard (Alabama), who was selected by the Los Angeles Wildcats with the fourth pick of the ninth round (68th overall).

Adrian Hubbard. Now that’s a name I haven’t thought about in a long time. Congrats to him on staying in shape this long and making a semi-pro league. Will it fare better than the AAF? Remains to be seen. But hey, good luck. Wish him the best.

Click the article if you want a full list of Alabama-roots defensive front-7 players. But Hubbard is the only one from The University of Alabama. Why? Because the rest of Alabama’s players have stuck in the NFL. Roll Tide.

Jeremy Pruitt’s subtle shot at Alabama a big mistake

“There was a certain mindset of how they wanted to play the game, and win the football game, and they had success,” Pruitt said of Alabama’s old ‘run the darn ball’ ethos. “You can probably look, I don’t know, when it kind of changed there in Tuscaloosa. I don’t know, are they having any more success winning national championships now as opposed to then? I don’t know.

“But they definitely have a lot of skill players, and it has given them a chance to recruit some of the best skill players in the country based on how they play.”

More shine than substance, in other words. I don’t know, but is Pruitt insane?

Finally, we all love Jeremy Pruitt for how he coached the defense in 2016-2017. He may be stuck as the Tennessee coach now, but he’s still a top mind in football. Does he have a point? Or is he off-base, considering he was at Alabama when they beat Georgia in the national championship with the same group of QB and receivers that they have now?

Does scoring more points lead to losing more games? Seems a bit illogical if you ask me, but there’s a strong contingent of people that disagree. What are your thoughts?