Jumbo Package: SEC Championship, Softball sweep of Auburn, Justin Thomas win highlight another stellar weekend

Happy Monday, everyone. It was yet another Gumpalicious weekend.

• Men’s basketball won the SEC Tournament
• Baseball took two of three
• Women’s wheelchair basketball won the national title while the men finished #2 nationally
• Softball swept three from Auburn. Here’s a live shot of Greg Byrne visiting Lee County at this point.

And, to cap it all off, Justin Thomas took home The Players Championship with a final round 68. After the tournament, he celebrated the basketball win.

It’s been more than just a day, Justin. Alabama sports are on fire.

Hey, did you hear Chris Stewart’s call of the final play?

That call is museum bound.

Nate Oats spoke about Josh Primo after the game, and the news is encouraging.

Oats said Primo “dropped the crutches today” and hopes he’ll be on the floor Saturday.

“And if not this weekend, I would hope if we get to the second weekend, he can play by then for sure,” Oats said.

Keon Ellis was also “just a little banged up” exiting the win over LSU and will get some extra rest with some time off before the Saturday game.

That injury looked bad when it happened. Thankfully, he avoided major damage.

Oats also gushed about tournament MVP Jahvon Quinerly, and his parents.

“[His parents] were never concerned about how he’s being utilized or any of that stuff,” Oats said. “I called them to get help on how to coach him to make sure I was getting the most out of him. We had a great conversations. They’re the parents you don’t have to worry about. They’re never questioning the coach, none of that. Their dad is a Jersey cop. I love him. He’s a man’s man. I mean, if he needs to have a talk with Jahvon, he’s going to have a talk with Jahvon.

“Jahvon’s got some toughness about him. He’s got that Jersey toughness. He’ll play in there, fight a little bit. Pretty scrappy. We had great conversations all year. They were so happy. I gave mom a hug up there in the stands. She just kept thanking us for giving him a chance. The kids thanked us for giving him a shot. Shoot, I’m thanking them for trusting us with their son. He’s been great for us all year.”

Quinerly’s season is one of the reasons we watch college sports. He has always had plenty of offensive game, but he was flat-out benched for his defense, and Oats made no bones about it. Rather than sulk, the kid kept working his ass off, became a key contributor down the stretch and then won MVP of the conference tournament. His growth has been tremendous, and we should get him back for another season where he will complement projected one-and-done superstar PG J.D. Davison.

Enough about next year, though. The Tide will play Iona on Saturday night, as all games were pushed back a single day for unknown logistical reasons related to playing the entire tournament in Indy. The venue will be historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, home of the Butler Bulldogs and made famous in film by Gene Hackman’s Hickory Huskers. Oats has been there before.

Playing a tournament game in there should be a great experience for the players. Well, as long as they win, anyway.

An Aggie football commit is planning his official visit to Tuscaloosa.

Four-star cornerback and Texas A&M commit Bobby Taylor announced on Sunday evening that he will officially visit Tuscaloosa on June 11-13.

Taylor, a product of Katy (Texas), recently committed to the Aggies over Michigan and Texas, but is keeping an open mind when it comes to allowing other programs to stay involved.

The current dead period is set to expire in May. For all that is holy, please let things be more normal by then.

Will Anderson was the best pass rusher in the nation last year per PFF.

Yet he “only” got seven sacks, which is yet another example of how offenses have changed the game in recent years. The ball simply gets out of the QB’s hand too quickly to pile up a bunch of sacks in most games.

Last, Dr. Matt Rhea doesn’t mind spiking the football a bit.

Bless these men, and may they continue to keep Alabama’s players on the field. Injury is about the only thing that gives other teams a chance against them.

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

Roll Tide.