Jumbo Package: Gump Day!

Receiver Jerry Jeudy and offensive linemen Alex Leatherwood and Jedrick Wills Jr. were first-team selections on offense, while linebacker Anfernee Jennings and defensive back Xavier McKinney were tabbed for first-team honors on defense. Receiver Jaylen Waddle was a first-team selection on special teams.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, running back Najee Harris, offensive lineman Landon Dickerson and receivers DeVonta Smith and Waddle were named to the second-team offense. Defensive lineman Raekwon Davis, linebacker Terrell Lewis and defensive back Trevon Diggs all earned second-team honors on defense.

It’s kinda funny how, despite being considered no better than 5th best in the conference by the CFP Committee, the actual SEC Coaches viewed the Tide in high enough regards that they led the conference in All-SEC player selections.

And I actually think the coaches did very well in their overall team selections. Picking the top two out of De’Andre Swift, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kylin Hill, and Najee Harris was a nearly impossible task anyway, and it would be hard to argue with whichever way they picked there.

That said, the conference really should allow more than two receivers on each team. It’s 2019, nobody plays with less than three receivers on the field anymore.

Head football coach Nick Saban has 12 interns on his staff this year at Alabama making a combined $610,000, including three prominent former head coaches, according to records obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Former Houston head coach Major Applewhite is on the payroll at $43,350. So is former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops ($76,500), along with former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones ($35,000).

This is a good article from USA Today about the business of hiring “analysts” and how that circumvents the typical contract stipulations of coach buyouts. Personally, I’d pay good money to know what exactly these guys actually do behind the scenes for Alabama, and how exactly rules are enforced to make sure they don’t cross over the line into “coaching.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban voted his team as the fifth best in the country in the final Amway coaches poll before bowl and playoff games.

Saban placed his team behind the four schools that made the College Football Playoff: LSU, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma.

The rest of Saban’s top 10: Georgia (No. 6), Florida (No. 7), Auburn (No. 8), Oregon (No. 9) and Baylor (No. 10).

Honestly, I really like that Nick is sticking up for his team here. I think he’s setting up for a nice “Us-vs.-the-World” attitude this bowl game and hopefully carrying it over into 2020.

“It’s a fine line sometimes,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said about his decision to pull Henry with Tennessee three touchdowns ahead. “I think you have to understand the players and who they are. I’ve got a good feel for Derrick. He wants to be out there every single snap. He does. It was my choice there at the end to make sure that we were able to get him on to the next week.”

Henry said he and Vrabel “had a conversation” during the game.

”Just checking in to make sure I’m good and being smart about everything,” Henry said. “I’ll let him know if I feel like I couldn’t go. But I felt good.”

Against the Raiders, Henry didn’t carry an outsized portion of the Titans’ offense, as he had in the previous three of Tennessee’s four straight wins. Henry ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries as the Titans’ offense rolled up 552 yards -- the sixth-most in team history and the most since 1991, when the franchise was still the Houston Oilers.

Just like at Alabama, it took Henry a while to get into a groove and really become a go-to running back. Or, at the very least, it takes coaches a while to get used to thinking about him differently than a typical run game.

While many offenses that emphasize a RB are built on using the running game to get first downs and give the quarterback more chances to hit explosive passes, Derrick Henry is purely a lesson in statistics. Give him enough carries, and he’s going to break a big one for a touchdown. Give him more carries, and he’s going to break more big runs. And sometimes you have to accept the occasional tackle for loss in there.

Less than one month after entering the NCAA transfer portal, true freshman cornerback Scooby Carter is now expected to return to Alabama, multiple sources tell BamaOnLine.

It’s worth noting that Carter’s name is still in the transfer portal at the time this was posted.

Carter appeared in three games for the Crimson Tide this season (Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Miss). He recorded one tackle against New Mexico State on Sept. 17. The 6-foot, 185-pound cornerback was an early enrollee and recorded four tackles in the A-Day Spring Game.

Whatever it was that had Carter ready to leave the program, I hope that it’s something he’s learned and grown from to become a better player and person. Freshman year is hard for everyone, athlete or not.

In any case, with Trevon Diggs, Shyheim Carter, and Jared Mayden all graduating from the secondary (and the likely departure of Xavier McKinney), Carter will have a great shot at carving out a role for himself in year two.

Roll Tide!