Jumbo Package: Greg Byrne provides visual update on Bryant Denny renovations, Alabama offers in-state QB

Happy Tuesday, everyone. AD Greg Byrne took some pictures of the stadium renovations yesterday for your perusal.

Anyone surprised that the recruiting room is being expanded? Those wider concourses should allow for more social distancing which will undoubtedly be a part of any football played with fans in attendance in 2020, and we take the lead in the stupid video board race.

Bill Connelly wrote yesterday about how the spread has officially won the war over competing offensive styles, and today he mentions the 25 most influential games that led to this point. In the SEC, no game was more transformative than that time Johnny Manziel waltzed into Tuscaloosa and smoked Alabama.

Nov. 10, 2012: Texas A&M 29, Alabama 24

Conference realignment ran roughshod at the beginning of the 2010s, in the process allowing us to answer what was until then a hypothetical question: Can a Big 12 offense win in the mean, mighty SEC?

Yes. The answer is always yes.

Perhaps you prefer the symbolism of Big 12 transplant Missouri reaching the SEC title game, and nearly the BCS championship, in its second season in the league. But for sheer starkness, it’s hard to top Texas A&M, with its slippery redshirt freshman quarterback (Johnny Manziel) and a coach with a sterling spread pedigree (Kevin Sumlin), beating the defending national champs in Tuscaloosa.

You could even argue that the following season in College Station, when Mike Evans tallied 279 of Manziel’s 464 passing yards against Alabama in a losing effort, was equally important. Saban has mentioned Manziel’s execution of the RPO based offense as an impetus for change on multiple occasions.

Good news: we bring back a ton of talent this year.

Barton’s take: “There are still remnants of that loaded 2017 class that powered a national championship as freshmen with guys like Najee Harris, Devonta Smith, Dylan Moses and Alex Leatherwood spurning the NFL draft to return to Alabama. But there has been a really strong effort filling the front 7 on the recruiting trail since that run and those guys will step into the forefront this year. Bama will be loaded with linebackers and pass rushers once again this fall.”

Extra points: Blessed with perhaps the nation’s most electrifying player with the ball in his hands, Alabama’s creative use of Jaylen Waddle this season will be something to watch.

That front seven will indeed be the key this season.

Last, Alabama offered a 2022 QB from Gordo, and he seems quite pleased about it.

Following a sophomore season campaign that saw 2022 quarterback Tanner Bailey throw for 2,409 yards and 25 touchdowns, Alabama offered the Gordo (Ala.) signal caller on Monday.

“I’m ecstatic,” Bailey told BamaOnLine. “Growing up right here close to the University it’s honestly a dream come true once you think about it. All of my friends, bunch of my family are huge Alabama fans. It really is special.”

Keep an eye on Bailey. He already holds offers from Michigan, LSU, and Georgia, but it sounds like Alabama may well be the school to beat.

That’s about it for now. Have a great day.

Roll Tide.