Jumbo Package: Gump Day!

Happy Gump Day, guys!

Townsend came to Alabama as a positionless speedster and bounced between being a defensive back, undersized running back, and wide receiver. He had one nice catch and run in Alabama’s last A-Day game that showed off his speed, but never really managed to break into any meaningful snaps.

His best path to becoming a contributor was to become a return specialist, but, unfortunately for him, Alabama signed Jaylen Waddle in the very next class.

Josh said earlier today that, if anything, the departures of Shavers and Townsend are really a recruiting tool: Sign with Alabama, get elite training for three years and graduate, and then go play somewhere else for two remaining years of eligibility.

By our count, Alabama is now at 87 players on scholarship on the roster... just 2 over the limit.

Next, if you have 20 minutes you need to kill today, this is a cool interview from AL.com’s Lauren Sisler with the guys who have been behind organizing the off-season workouts for Alabama players this year.

They talk a lot about their roles, the challenges of this pandemic-laden offseason, etc, but around the 10-minute mark the talk about the players who have really stood out to them. Wide receivers John Metchie and Xavier Williams both were given high praise, and they absolutely gushed over freshman QB Bryce Young.

Get excited, folks, the Alabama passing game isn’t going anywhere.

Nick Saban and his staff added a couple more in the last month in four-star linebackers Kaine Williams and Ian Jackson to move up to No. 41. Those two pledges were like a tremor in what will ultimately be an avalanche of ballyhooed commitments. Perhaps the blitz is coming here in June and July.

The 247Sports Crystal Ball is picking up steam in favor of the Tide for the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 3 overall prospect overall in the Top247 in five-star JC Latham. We had the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout as a potential lean to the Buckeyes a month ago as they try to reel in that Florida 2010 haul as the best in our network’s history, but that could be tough if Latham spurns the Big Ten power for the class of the SEC.

Meanwhile, Horns247 insider Mike Roach added Crystal Ball predictions in favor of Alabama for another five-star offensive tackle in Tommy Brockermeyer, along with his twin brother James Brockermeyer, who is the No. 1 center in the land. Latham could be off the board in the next week and the Brockermeyers sometime in the next month. We’re looking at a potentially epic offensive line haul for a program that’s also near the top of the list alongside Georgia for five-star offensive tackle Amarius Mims. A source close to another Top247 offensive lineman Jager Burton said he thinks the No. 1 recruit in Kentucky could pick the Tide, Buckeyes or local Wildcats as well.

We know Saban and his staff didn’t take anyone this cycle for momentum purposes, maintaining the standard of prospects they typically seek on the trail. The six commits already in the fold is the least amount of anyone ranked inside the top 50. But a closer look at the average ranking per commit of 93.4 for those six talented prospects and the Crimson Tide sit at No. 4 nationally in that category.

And again, Saban and his staff are just getting started.

Our own CB969 had a similar breakdown on Alabama’s recruiting class yesterday, but here’s the latest from 247. The guys over there seem to have no doubt that Alabama is going to surge up in the rankings sooner rather than later.

In hoops news, the Tide has locked in a three-year contest with in-state little sibling, South Alabama.

For those of us living on the Gulf Coast, the chance to go and watch the Tide play in Mobile in 2021 will be a lot of fun.

Scarbrough is a son of Alabama. Now, he is back in the classrooms he sat in not so long ago as a full-time student at the University of Alabama. This was his plan after leaving in 2018 with a year of eligibility remaining and five classes to finish.

Scarbrough says he will use the skills he’s acquired in the NFL and hopefully apply them to a post-football career with a federal agency. Harrison Barden/USA TODAY Sports

He always told himself he would return to school. Even though he’s just 23 years old, there are times he feels a little different from the other students in Section 001 of Criminal Justice 290, a career-planning class.

“It’s like, I feel so old,” Scarbrough says, scanning the gray-and-white classroom.

Scarbrough is back not only because of the promise of completing a degree. It’s also the beginning of a potential post-football career as an investigator solving cold cases with forensic evidence.

Finally, if you read nothing else today, check out this long-form piece from ESPN on Bo Scarbrough.

The massive man wants to go into the FBI, and is finishing up his college degree in-between NFL seasons to make his dream a reality.

“At some point, we have to do something for ourselves. Like we went to college. Like, we went to this school and made it to the NFL. ... We do everything people asked of us and we have to reward ourselves with something,” Scarbrough said. “We have to be proud of ourselves for doing something for ourselves. Like everybody is going to be proud of you scoring touchdowns or stuff like that, but most of the time they are not going to remember that touchdown or whatever that you’ve done.

“They will remember that you graduated from college. It’s a big thing for me.”

This is an absolutely phenomenal story from every angle, and will hopefully only get better. Roll Tide, Bo. We are all wishing you the best in both careers.