Jumbo Package: 2023 College Football Hall of Fame candidates released

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Athlon Sports put out its preseason All-SEC team, and Charlie Potter notes that Alabama is well represented as usual.

Alabama had seven first-team players in quarterback Bryce Young, all-purpose back Jahmyr Gibbs, offensive lineman Emil Ekiyor, defensive lineman Byron Young, linebackers Will Anderson and Henry To’o To’o and safety Jordan Battle. Gibbs was also named to the second team as a kickoff returner along with wide receiver Jermaine Burton, linebacker Dallas Turner, cornerback Eli Ricks and kicker Will Reichard. Tight end Cameron Latu and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry were on the third team. Offensive lineman Javion Cohen, defensive lineman DJ Dale and defensive backs Brian Branch and DeMarcco Hellams were on the fourth team.

Chase Goodbread notes that the SEC truly breaking apart from the sport would create an illegitimate national champion.

Nothing could be worse for college football than to divide a conference housing 12 of the last 16 national champions from the rest of the sport. Neither the SEC champion nor the best-of-the-rest champion could credibly claim a national title. It would set the game back decades, worse off than it was in the poll era, when national champs were determined by a cast of votes rather than on the field. At least with the poll era, which at times undermined the sport’s legitimacy until the BCS was born in 1998, every program was chasing the same prize.

I don’t know, Chase. Some of us were cool with the college football where conference championships still meant something, national champions were decided by vote and deemed mythical, and people argued all offseason about who really was the best team.

Tim Tebow heads the class of first time College Football Hall of Fame nominees.

Other notable names as first-time candidates: Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma linebacker Rocky Calmus, Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter, Oregon running back LaMichael James, Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, Oklahoma defensive lineman Dewey Selmon and Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams.

USC running back Reggie Bush, Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch, Florida State running back Warrick Dunn, Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney and Miami linebacker Ray Lewis are among holdovers from ballots in other years.

Let’s reminsce, shall we?

Chris Samuels and Antonio Langham are also on the ballot again.

Brad Crawford over at 247 predicts that the ACC will miss the playoff again.

DraftKings Sportsbook projected win total: 10.5

The pick: Under; With 10 regular-season wins, Dabo Swinney and the Tigers will get to the New Year’s Six this season. And they’ll have to be satisfied with that since projecting a College Football Playoff berth at this point is too far-fetched for a team replacing both long-time coordinators and must endure Wake Forest, NC State, Miami and a trip to Notre Dame. All of those opponents should be nationally-ranked at the time of the game. Unlike other years in which the ACC is the butt of bad schedule jokes, the Tigers will have earned it this season if they’re able to conquer that slate with only one tick in the loss column heading into conference championship weekend.

Last, Kareem Jackson has made a pretty solid career for himself.

Jackson is preparing to make this season his 13th as a fulltime NFL starter, too. Only five Alabama alumni have been regular starters in at least 13 NFL seasons — Cornelius Bennett in 14 and Bart Starr, Lee Roy Jordan, John Hannah and Ozzie Newsome in 13 apiece.

Jackson said he planned to play “as long as my body allows me to. I feel pretty good right now. Obviously with that comes a lot with me just doing stuff on my own outside of the facility and even here. It takes a little while to kind of get going, but I still feel really good, so for me, I’m going to go until my body tells me it’s time to hang them up.”

Not bad for a heavily criticized first round pick.

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

Roll Tide.