Happy Friday, everyone. The big story today is UA president Stuart Bell’s remarks to the local CBS affiliate yesterday. He believes football will be back this fall, with fans.
“As we look to accomplish yet another great fall semester, welcoming back students, welcoming back our sports teams to be able to have competition,” Bell told CBS 42. “... Certainly, our plan is that we’ll have a season and we’ll have fans as part of that season in our stadium. So, we’re working towards that. We’re at April 30, and our first games are in September.”
Texas A&M’s chancellor echoed this sentiment, as did the UGA president.
Urban Meyer somewhat agreed on SportsCenter yesterday, though his optimism is tempered by the possibility that some states, particularly in the Big Ten footprint, may still be under some level of shelter in place at that time. There is an obvious political divide when it comes to such restrictions remaining in place, and it’s worth noting that the only Democrat governor in the SEC footprint is Louisiana’s John Bel Edwards. Would the SEC play ball if other conferences could not?
It seems very likely that public schools in the south will be open in August, and if public schools are open then there is no reason for college campuses to be closed. If there are students on campus, there is no reason not to play football and at least allow the students to attend. Now, whether they pack the house with non-students as usual will be another question, as will the status of opening opponent USC.
Hope for the best in many, many directions here.
A couple of Tua notes for you:
“Based on the calls that I get and information that I get,” Saban said in a video conference with South Florida media Thursday, “I was really, really hopeful that Miami would take him.”
Saban, the Alabama coach, said he believes the Chargers would have taken Tua with the sixth pick, if Miami passed. But he was hoping it would never come to that.
“I think he will be a great face of the organization there,” Saban said. “I was just rooting for the guy. I felt so bad about him getting injured. Would those consequences of that injury affect his draft status dramatically? Probably as anxious as I ever was about a player getting drafted.”
I was rooting for the Chargers to get him so that his extended family in Hawaii would have an easier trip, but Miami it is. Saban went on to mention that they tried to beat self-preservation into Tua’s head, but his playmaking instincts always took over. Hopefully this long, painful rehab will drive the point home and allow him to stay healthy in the NFL.
“That’s going to depend on the medical examiners taking a look at him and seeing what is best for his prognosis,” Tebow said of Tagovailoa. “What’s better for Tua in the long run? I would personally sit him for a little bit of time, heal him up, get him stronger, get him bigger. Make sure he is 100 percent confident in his hip, his legs and that he is ready to go because I think Tua is one of the most accurate, gifted quarterbacks I have ever seen coming out of college.”
I’m sure the Dolphins will be careful with the hip, but the way Tua has progressed thus far offers some confidence that we will see him in 2020.
We’ll close with a few other NFL notes:
- Saban thought Jerry Jeudy would be the first WR picked in the draft.
- Mike Locksley believes that Jalen Hurts is “well-equipped” to find a NFL role.
- Jon Gruden is going full Gump with his offense.
- Anfernee Jennings has quite the support system with New England.
- The Redskins unsurprisingly passed on Reuben Foster’s fifth year option, which guarantees top-15 type money at the position, as he rehabs from a severe knee injury. This means that 2020 is a contract year for him, and he should play accordingly.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.