Jumbo Package: Is Summer over yet?

• The Fish began their minicamp on Tuesday, and by all accounts, Tua Tagovailoa struggled a bit. But he bounced back quite admirably yesterday.
• BOL is continuing their Top 25 Players for the 2021 season, and today’s selections are the dynamic freshman duo of DBs, Brian Branch and Malachi Moore.
• Today, CBS Sports kicks off a special three-part series on Nick Saban’s Home for Wayward Coaches. Definitely worth checking out:

“We’re always looking for a better way,” Alabama’s coach said. “Those guys, all good coaches, all did a really good job somewhere along the line before. I’m sure they had their own ambitions of what they wanted to accomplish and what they wanted to do here, whether it was to overcome previous failings or learn from people here.”

• Ever wanted to see a Bowl Game between the No. 1 MWC team and the No. 5 PAC 12 selection? Sponsored by Jimmy Kimmel? Tough — because God has a dark sense of humor, and because we have not suffered enough, that’s exactly what’s coming: The Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.

Sure, why not. This sport is increasingly farcical anyway.

• When Marshall hired uber recruiter Charles Huff away from the Tide this winter, the expectation was an immediate improvement in recruiting classes — the last of which was 90th in the nation. What they did not expect, was Huff signing the 124th ranked class in the country, easily Marshall’s worst of the last two decades. Ouch.
• SEC partisans? Not a fan of 12-team expansion.
• What has been Collin Sexton’s greatest challenge in acclimating to the NBA? The elite matchups he faces on a nightly basis.
• What to expect when Alabama travels to Florida to face the Miami Hurricanes? Let’s just say early national predictions are not trending favorably for Manny Diaz.

ALABAMA VS. MIAMI (ATLANTA)
Game prediction: Alabama 52, Miami 17
The word: Nick Saban has never lost one of these season-opening games against top-tier opponents and carries the nation’s longest winning streak into this one in Atlanta. Is the stage too big for the Hurricanes? Alabama is used to playing in the spotlight with all eyes on the Crimson Tide during opening weekend.

• When we have spoken of NIL rights in the past, we have frequently noted that just because a few prominent Senators are on board does not guarantee smooth sailing through Theseus’ ship. And yesterday that proved to be the case, as Republican ranking member Sen. Wicker, slammed the brakes on the committee, and wants to survey a broad swath of schools and players to see what they want and what they need in an NIL bill. The debate has largely been centered on the super powers to date, and for a man whose constituency includes two of the SEC’s backwaters, that makes sense.
• Don’t look now, but a team that I have been very high on to finish just behind the Bulldogs in the East, is crushing it on the recruiting trail too. Drinkwitz’s ability to recruit was always the biggest unknown about his hire. But so far, he’s doing things like flipping A&M and LSU recruits to CoMo.
• A pair of ‘Bama baseball players picked up honors yesterday, as junior RHP Chase Lee and sophomore utility player Peyton Wilson earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) / Rawlings All-Southeast first-team honors for the 2021 season.

• Finally, Bama Hammer makes a very good point about playoff expansion, BTW. With two teams from the SEC guaranteed to get in every season, there is absolutely no excuse for contenders to not snag one of those spots. For a decade, mediocre coaches have hidden behind Saban’s singular dominance. Now? Even if you’re playing for second, you best get there.