Jumbo Package: This season’s QB debate is shaping up to be Tua versus...Justin Herbert. Huh?

The new tedious debate that will emerge this year is Tua vs...Justin Herbert. Huh? That guy? Really?

Yup.

Tua Tagovailoa could well be the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft and recent comments from Trent Dilfer suggest he is well worthy of that distinction.

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“He’s the finest prospect I’ve ever worked with. And I think I’ve worked with almost all the guys, at this point. He’s rare in so many areas, just not in height, and not in physicality. He’s a rare football player, a rare leader, with rare twitch, accuracy and vision, and a rare mind.”

Really looking forward to the stats of a generational talent being compared to Just Another System Guy in a defensively-challenged conference.

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BOL continues its series on Alabama’s regular season opponents, and there is one truly despicable game on the schedule that makes me honestly wish we’d have scheduled an FCS power or even dignified UAB’s presence (sorry, Roger): New Mexico State.

New Mexico State made a bowl game two years ago, and it was a feel good story. But NMSU is historically one of the 10-12 worst programs in the sport. And, last season was no different, as the Aggies discovered that regression to the mean is a real thing.

The struggles begins on defense, where NMSU is simply godawful:

As for the defense, NMSU returns six starters from a unit that allowed more than 475 yards and 41 points per game a year ago. Leading tackler Jahvon Ferguson (132 tackles) returns to a linebacking corps that must replace three starters, including Terrill Hanks. The Aggie secondary also lost a couple of players, most importantly hard-hitting safety Ron LaForce. Up front, the defensive line is in the best shape with everyone returning, led by leading sacker Cedric Wilcots (7.0 sacks)...

This is...just going to be a dreadful game.

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I really liked this candid assessment from 247’s Travis Reier on 102.9FM

Hear the full breakdown of Reier’s areas of emphasis heading into the 2019 season in the video above.

”When you talk about the ability to pound on people and grind out yards,” Reier continued. “you’re gonna be good there. But you are gonna need a little something different like Josh Jacobs gave you, even Damian Harris to an extent, and that’s where Trey Sanders the five-star running back comes in.”

As always, you can tune into “Southern Fried Sports” weekdays from 11-noon. Don’t forget to download the Tide102.9 app and stay connected with the Crimson Tide all year long.

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Sark is trying very very hard to land his future Unicorn at QB. He’s been trying to flip dudes from USC, Clemson, etc. But, it looks like the most promising target may be Top 100 blue chipper Jalen Milroe from Texas.

It’s behind a paywall, but here’s the relevant quote from another Texas Jalen:

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Just pay the damn man, already.

Julio took one for the team during his last contract negotiation, accepting a somewhat marginal-market salary and forgoing a holdout to further the good of the team. But, now almost a decade into the league, and with his window being another 6-7 great years, the oft-injured Jones has to worry about himself and get that last big deal. And, frankly, the Falcons owe him this time around.

Jones presently earns about $13m per year, 12th at his position. Other no-doubt star wideouts are earning in the neighborhood of $16-$17m, with Odell Beckham, Jr. maxing out at $18m.

Somewhere in that neighborhood for a first ballot, unanimous Hall of Famer with another 600 or so catches and 8000-10,000 yards in front of him seems fair.

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On the subject of potential holdouts, our own Josh Jacobs is already proving to be a shrewd negotiator (or a giant pain in the ass, depending on your position.) He is the only Raider that remains unsigned, and he refuses to do so until that notoriously cheap franchise comes off some more signing bonus cash.

Jacobs remains the only unsigned Raiders draft pick, and according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, negotiations have not been going well and there is a growing feeling that Jacobs will not be with the team when training camp opens on July 23.

Tafur notes that the issue between both sides seems to be the signing bonus.

Raiders general manager Mike Mayock was not available for comment.

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NFL Draft analyst Jeremiah Daniel breaks down some tape on Dylan Moses and a name we don’t mention around here nearly as much as we should — Xavier McKinney.

As a sophomore, McKinney secured the starting strong safety spot opposite Deionte Thompson in fall camp and emerged as one of the Crimson Tide’s most consistent performers. He would later be named the Defensive Most Valuable Player in UA’s Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma.

The safety ranked third on the Tide defense with 73 tackles, including six tackles for loss and three sacks, and was tied for second on the team with two interceptions, including one of the Crimson Tide’s pick-sixes in 2018, picking off a pass at Ole Miss and returning it 30 yards for a score. He added 10 pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble as a sophomore.

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This guy is utterly shameless.

One of the worst motivators in the game, long known for letting inmates run the asylum; mollycoddling batterers, murderers, rapists and robbers; and wasting some of his most talented teams, has not only been hired as honest-to-god faculty by Ohio State to teach “leadership,” but that rakish foil, Urban Meyer, has now decided to share his leadership vision with us all by entering the podcasting arena.

Make your own jokes. Or, enjoy this painfully accurate one.

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Meyer was not the only softie in the news yesterday.

New Kansas coach Les Miles faced a significant problem this offseason when the Jayhawks’ most talented player (RB Pooka Williams) was arrested for DV: choking, shoving, and punching a woman in the face her usually earns you a well-deserved trip to County.

And, it’s pretty serious stuff, huh? Particularly in this day and age.

Well, Les Miles apparently agreed. So that earned Pooka...a one-game suspension...against Indiana State.

What? No team votes in Lawrence?

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This isn’t about Alabama, but with the season fast approaching, I found some great vids from NLF.com. They’re outstanding particularly if you’re a n00b just learning (or wanting to learn) Xs and Os re: defensive concepts.

How and when to play different zone coverages (and if you’re Alabama, the answer is “never”)

And, this breakdown of film by Jamal Adams is great. Listening to him making reads at the line, and diagnosing what offenses are trying to do in this cat-and-mouse game, is very instructive.

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Okay, programming notes:

We have another countdown for you later today. Then, over the next few weeks, I intend to give you piece on fake punts, conclude the series on targeting, have a discussion about ticketing and seating, and then some preseason gambling action when the lines are firmed up. These are all long projects and have required or will require a lot of work. So, hopefully you’ll enjoy them.

SEC Media Days are next week, and as usual, I will be doing a day-by-day, team-by-team recap from Birmingham. Then, we have unit previews that start to roll out. At the same time, players report and fall camps begin. And CB is going to start putting up his SEC Predictions posts soon, as well.

The season is closer than you think, y’all!

Roll Tide