Jumbo Package: Tua Tagovailoa shares his thoughts, 2021 class may already have a sleeper

Happy Friday, everyone. A Dolphins reporter interviewed Tua Tagovailoa about various things, and it is pretty amusing. Give it a look.

I couldn’t be more floored by that celebrity crush, and how did Tua live in Tuscaloosa for more than three years and never get a Pub sub?

Athlon put out its SEC preview. They have Alabama winning the league, but look at the East prediction.

2. Georgia*As mentioned above, it’s a close call atop the SEC East. The Bulldogs return eight starters from arguably the top defense in college football in 2020 but winning an SEC or national title hinges on how far the offense develops. After a sluggish year offensively, coach Kirby Smart hit the reset button and hired Todd Monken as play-caller and brought in Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman at quarterback. With no spring practice, this duo won’t have much time to get up to speed in the fall. Also, the Bulldogs are breaking in three new starters up front and have to find more playmakers to surround George Pickens at receiver. As usual, the ground game won’t be an issue. The early trip to Alabama will tell us a lot about Georgia’s offense.

As you probably surmise, they have Florida reprising its familiar role as sacrificial lamb to Saban in Atlanta.

The NFL’s doc shared some of the COVID strategy for 2020.

Sills said the league is using the concept of an “ecosystem” rather than a “bubble,” arguing that it “encompasses the fact that it’s everybody who is together with shared responsibility and shared risk.”

The “ecosystem” concept has formed the basis of the league’s plan for play this year, as it tries to mitigate the risk to players, coaches and staff.

He said that those within the “ecosystem” share a duty to “practice appropriate public health guidelines and minimize their own individual risk” to benefit the larger group.

“It’s a different concept obviously than everybody being at one single site and nobody coming in and out,” he added.

I don’t think anyone thinks things will be normal, but hopefully we will be able to have some fans in attendance.

The Crimson White has identified a potential sleeper in the 2021 class.

Alabama also added depth to an already strong defensive line with the recruitment of three-star defensive tackle Anquin Barnes from Robert E. Lee High School in Florida. Barnes stands 6’5 tall and weighs 299 pounds, and he has seen a rise in his recruitment stock due to his overwhelming athleticism. He is a multi-sport athlete with experience in basketball and track, both of which helped develop his speed and agility. His strong lower body also gives him the power to push through offensive linemen and get to the quarterback. Do not underestimate him for being a three-star recruit, as Barnes could become a top 100 college player by the end of his senior season. The talent and upside he possesses should excite Alabama fans.

Barnes is a load at 6’5” and 300 lbs. We will keep an eye on him for sure.

Last, Christopher Kamrani at The Athletic put out an outstanding feature on Spencer Hall, who recently took a buyout from Vox/SB Nation.

When The Athletic’s Andy Staples was a Florida beat writer at The Tampa Tribune, Hall linked Staples’ story on chasing down the Georgia fan who started the chant: “GATORS WEAR JEAN SHORTS.” Staples, a former Florida player himself, was elated.

“The Trib never would have run that story in the paper, but when they linked it on EDSBS, I realized there was this whole community of people who cared about college football like I did,” Staples said. “We weren’t serving them at the paper. So I started writing stories I thought that audience would like instead of what my editors wanted. Less than two years later, Sports Illustrated hired me.”

Hall is an icon in the football writing business, and pretty much everyone who has read his work awaits what is next from him. He played a critical role in building this platform.

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

Roll Tide.