Jumbo Package: Sankey mentions “forfeit” for COVID issues, Stingley says DeVonta “taught him a lot”

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Yesterday Florida, LSU and South Carolina made their media day appearances, and Alabama fans will enjoy this nugget in particular.

I think we all agree that some teaching was done in that matchup.

Greg Sankey made no bones about it: he wants teams to be vaccinated and there will be little tolerance for those that aren’t and have outbreaks.

One thing the conference can control is what it will do if a team is unable to play because of coronavirus issues. Sankey said games won’t be postponed and has recommended that the conference removes the 53-man roster minimum that was put in place last year.

The message to schools is “You’re expected to play as scheduled,” Sankey said.

“That means your team needs to be healthy to compete, and if not, that game won’t be rescheduled,” he said. “And thus, to dispose of the game, the ‘forfeit’ word comes up at this point.”

The good news is that Alabama appears to be in good shape there.

Dan Mullen wants to drop cross-division rivalry games .

“I think for the players, for the fan bases, I really think it’s exciting to see some more of maybe mixing up the teams from the west (division) and playing two different teams each year instead of a permanent crossover,” Mullen said. “I think that would be really exciting so you get this matchup.”

The topic has come up in the past but has never gotten the necessary traction to become a reality within the SEC. Tradition means a lot in the conference and the possibility of losing annual rivalry games or divisions altogether has been a bridge too far for some to cross. There are plenty of reasons why and they begin and end with the fans.

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The Power Five doesn’t seem to be looking to break away from the NCAA any time soon.

As much as some may want this to happen, it doesn’t appear that power conferences have any interest in breaking away from the NCAA, even in this new era of name, image and likeness laws. “It’s not the focus,” Sankey said on Monday.

However, that doesn’t mean that college football power brokers don’t see obvious flaws in the system, particularly related to the NCAA’s heavily bureaucratic methods related to rules and punishments. Shots across the bow in the NCAA’s direction are piling up as college athletics navigates a seismic shift. “450 pages seems less relevant today than it ever has before,” Sankey said of the NCAA’s rulebook. “We need outcomes, particularly from those high profile matters.”

Last, USA Today put out its All-SEC preseason awards, and Alabama cleaned up.

The Crimson Tide was the unanimous choice to win the SEC West Division and the overwhelming pick to win the SEC championship. Georgia was picked to win the East.

Alabama also had the projected coach of the year in Nick Saban, player of the year in wide receiver John Metchie III and newcomer of the year in freshman defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry.

That all sounds fine to me.

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

Roll Tide.