Jumbo Package: Alabama athletics sweeps the weekend

Happy Monday, everyone. It was a whale of a weekend at The Capstone.

• Gymnastics put up a 197.725 to upset LSU
• Men’s basketball beat Vanderbilt, even if it wasn’t pretty
• Women’s basketball beat Mississippi State
• Softball swept the weekend
• Baseball did the same and is now ranked #22 by Baseball America

We have a live feed of Greg Byrne pulling up to the office today.

Besides winning on the court, there was a cool moment before the men’s game vs. Vanderbilt. Rick Karle has the details.

Here’s what Tyler had to say about it.

Alex Reese has done a lot of growing up in the last year, going from regular stays in Nate Oats’ doghouse to a clear leadership role. Credit to him for keeping his head right and to his coach for sticking with him. Great story.

If Oats’ squad has a weakness, it is ballhandling, and this stat bears that out.

They play extremely fast but anyone who watches the games can see some of the out of control attempts in the lane. It’s baffling that a team that gets up and down the court the way they do, and moves the ball so well in the half court, struggles to execute simple 3-on-2 situations. If they converted those easy opportunities at even an average rate, they would be unstoppable.

In football notes, USA Today put out their spring SEC preview.

Alabama

2020 record: 13-0 (10-0 in the SEC)

Key players: WR John Metchie III, OT Evan Neal, CB Josh Jobe

Biggest question: Can Bryce Young pick up where Mac Jones left off?

Barring the unexpected, Young will replace Jones as Alabama’s starting quarterback and bring more mobility to the position. Jones leaves enormous shoes to fill. Is Young up to the challenge? His legs will bring a different dimension to the Tide’s offense but there are some big names to replace at the skill positions, including the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in receiver DeVonta Smith.

Young is expected to win the job, and Alabama’s offense will look different again. The beautiful thing about college football is that, as Saban says, every year you have a different team. Young reminds many people of Kyler Murray in both size and skillset. We don’t know if he will have the uncanny deep ball accuracy that Mac Jones showed this year, but we do know that he’s much more mobile. Based on his high school tape, he has a chance to be both an elite passer and runner at the position, which is essentially impossible to defend.

Paul Tyson isn’t going down without a fight, though.

Folks, that is a big arm.

The #3 WR in the 2022 class has Alabama among his finalists.

“I talk to Coach (Holmon) Wiggins, I’ve talked to Coach (Nick) Saban a couple times, I talk to Coach (Freddie) Roach a lot,” Coleman said. “A lot of them. I talk to most of the staff.”

It’s been a Dead Period since Coleman earned the offer from Saban and company, so he hasn’t been able to visit yet. He hopes to get to Tuscaloosa once things open back up.

“It’s Alabama. When you say Alabama they put people in the league,” Coleman said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to going to. And they play young players. If you’re a dog you’re going to play early.”

Kenyan Drake can still fly, y’all.

San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert was the only player who topped Drake’s fastest showing – and he did it twice with a 23.09-mph clocking on an 80-yard touchdown run against the New York Jets on Sept. 20 and 22.73 mph on a 76-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown against the Cardinals on Sept. 13.

Former West Alabama standout Tyreek Hill also posted one of Next Gen Stats’ fastest speeds for a ball-carrier in 2020. The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver came in at No. 5 by reaching 21.91 mph on a 44-yard touchdown reception during a 33-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 13.

Da’Shawn said it best.

Drake is a free agent. It will be interesting to see where he lands.

There was a bit of a flap at Jackson State this weekend. They won big in their season opener, but apparently someone broke into their famous coach’s office and stole some of his belongings. Someone connected to the university seemingly didn’t want it getting out as a theft so they told a reporter that staff had simply secured it for him. Deion wasn’t having it.

Sweeping petty crime under the rug is no way to change a culture, which is Deion’s intention. It will be interesting to see how this relationship unfolds. This wasn’t the best start.

Last, Levi Randolph had a massive game in the G league.

The Charge is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ affiliate. It won’t take many games like that for him to get a call up. He was called up last season for a short time, but never got into the game. Needless to say, he has a lot of fans in Alabama who hope he gets that shot.

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

Roll Tide.