Jumbo Package: SEC to vote on bringing athletes to campus June 1

Happy Friday, everyone. We are apparently a week away from SEC administrators voting on whether to allow athletes to train on campus.

The league formed a medical task force that began meeting in April to provide updates to university administrators. Part of its mission is “guiding the safe return” to on-campus athletic activities. But policy changes must be approved by the league members.

LSU executive deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry told the Louisiana Economic Recovery Task Force on Thursday that the vote by administrators will decide if student-athletes can return to campus on June 1 or June 15, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate. Either outcome would be a move toward normalcy as athletic department officials continue to project optimism about the chances of a fall sports season taking place.

It sounds like it will happen in June. My bet is the 15th, just out of an abundance of caution. Lincoln Riley is not a fan of the idea, preferring to bring players back as late as possible. We shall see.

Finebaum did a little of what Finebaum does, suggesting that Clay Helton has no interest in playing Alabama, COVID or no COVID.

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum used the topic as an avenue to chide the Trojans during Thursday’s appearance on Get Up, saying USC doesn’t want to play that game against the Crimson Tide anyway.

“That game is not going to be played. It’s hard for me to believe that if the county of Los Angeles is going to be shut down for the next couple months that Southern Cal will be ready to play that game,” Finebaum said. “And quite frankly I don’t think Clay Helton wants to play that game anyway because he’s going to get run over badly.”

Good old Pawwwwl.

No big deal here, just a freshman outside linebacker jumping up onto a box that’s five-and-a-half feet tall.

Christian Barmore continues to put in work. He is looking quite svelte for a DL.

You’re looking at two potentially critical pieces to the 2020 pass rush in these two gentlemen.

Two of Alabama’s softball seniors are eager to get back to work.

As soon as University of Alabama coach Patrick Murphy offered the chance to do so, she took it. Hemphill is one of the seven seniors who all chose to return to UA for the 2021 season, Hemphill doing so for one primary reason.

“I do not want to end my career that way.”

Hemphill did give some consideration to post-softball life, which she did have some plans for, but those plans include additional school. Those plans were much easier to postpone than a job offer, thus Hemphill did it in a heartbeat.

“The whole time, the thing that was hitting me the hardest was I won’t be able to go out with the people I came in with,” Jenkins said. “We’ve grown so close together, we see each other every day, we talk about everything with each other.

“Come to find out they’re all going to come back, that’s really been the icing on top of the cake. It’s been amazing to hear they’re coming back so I can finish with them.”

Jenkins’ return for the 2021 season was never in doubt, but UA softball’s other six seniors had decisions to make. With all of them coming back, Jenkins’ senior season will proceed the way she envisioned it. All that’s left is for her to get healthy for it.

Even the worst news has silver linings, and for Alabama softball, a reboot on their rough start to the 2020 campaign serves as one. The infield defense sorely missed Jenkins.

Last, the pandemic has a few former Alabama players unsigned.

· Cornerback Cyrus Jones (Alabama): Jones finished the 2019 season on the Denver Broncos’ non-football illness list. He revealed in December that he’d had heart surgery to repair a congenital abnormality. Jones was in his second season as the Ravens’ punt returner and had 12 returns for 113 yards in 2019 when a punt went through his hands in the eighth game of the season. The New England Patriots recovered the loose football at the Baltimore 20-yard line to set up a touchdown. The next week, Jones didn’t play, and the week after that, he was on waivers. Denver claimed Jones on Nov. 13, but he never played for the Broncos.

It also mentions that Cyrus released a rap song. You can check it out here if you like.

That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.