Jumbo Package: Mac Jones takes the reins, Power Five and NFL football kick off tonight

Happy Thursday, everyone. More football is on tonight, as Miami hosts UAB and the NFL kicks off with Deshaun Watson vs. Patrick Mahomes as the Kansas City Chiefs face the Houston Texans. We’re getting closer, y’all.

It sounds like Mac Jones is embracing his leadership role.

“With this coronavirus stuff, anything can happen. So, every guy in that room has to be ready to get their number called, and I think they’ve done a great job coming in, if they’re a freshman, or moving into that older spot like a guy like Paul. They’ve done a good job.”

Jones also said he is physically stronger than he was a year ago.

“I’m up to 218 pounds,”he told Gelb. “It’s good weight, too. I don’t think I’m fat, but some people might call me a little chunky. But it’s good weight, and just adding that weight makes me feel more confident taking bigger hits.”

Saban seems pleased with his progress from one scrimmage to the next. Alabama is in as good a shape at the position as anyone in the country.

Henry Ruggs III is making some noise in Vegas.

I think the quote was actually “cockroach.” New nickname?

You will likely recognize a couple of these captains.

Roll Jon and Landon.

Trevon Diggs has earned a starting nod in his first game.

In April, the Cowboys selected Diggs with the No. 51 overall pick in the second round. On Tuesday, the first unofficial team depth chart was released. According to the Cowboys’ list, Diggs is slated to start at one of the team’s cornerback positions opposite five-year veteran, Anthony Brown.

Through four seasons at Alabama from 2016-19, Diggs recorded 68 tackles (1/2 for loss), four interceptions (17 pass breakups), and two forced fumbles (two recoveries) in 44 games. As a senior, he recorded his single-season career-high three interceptions (eight pass breakups), two fumble recoveries (one touchdown), and 37 tackles (1/2 for loss) in 12 games.

Git ‘er done, Trevon.

We have a little more insight on the mysterious Knee of Terrell.

“We were worried that he had an infection from some previous stuff that he had surgeries on that knee in year’s past,” McVay said. “We potentially thought it could be something worse. Fortunately it came back where he’s okay, there wasn’t an infection in there.”

McVay went on to say that Lewis had some atrophy from the procedure that will take some time for him to recover from, and that the team has been waiting on the pathology results before making an announcement.

Infection can obviously be very dangerous. Glad to hear that he avoided that, and hopefully he will be on the field soon.

This has to be good news, right?

High schools in the state of Utah have been playing for 4+ weeks now. Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee and Alaska have all been playing for 3+ weeks. A significant number of states have now been playing for 2+ weeks.

Data shows there has not been a significant spike in COVID cases in any of the states that have been playing football for the last 2-4 weeks.

Right.

Last, check out this cool story involving two recent Alabama grads.

The hotdogger, who goes by Zach “N Cheese” Chatham, dropped down on one knee and popped the question to Hannah Fogus while the pair were in a picturesque area of Yellowstone National Park.

“I’ve wanted Hannah to become Mrs. Chatham since I first met her, but I never knew how I would make her proposal special,” Chatham told Fox News. “When I received the job offer to become a Hotdogger, I immediately knew this was my chance to propose in a way that shows how special she truly is to me.”

Congratulations to the young couple. Love y’all.

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

Roll Tide.