Jumbo Package: Mac Jones turning heads in Patriots’ camp

Four-star DL Hunter Osborne has made a deadline for his commitment decision: Next Friday, August 5th. Here’s the skinny on the long-time ‘Bama target:

“I’ve already made up my mind,” Osborne said.

With the Crimson Tide making the cut, it’s all about relationships with UA and what has the program in Osborne’s final quartet.

“Me and Coach (Freddie) Roach we’ve talked a lot recently,” he said. “In the past three or four weeks the recruitment has picked up. We don’t talk about football all the time, but when we do it’s about how they plan to use me, how they see me. But we’re at the point where we talk about stuff besides football. We have a really great relationship. As for Coach (Nick) Saban, we’ve talked a few times. He’s just like we want you down here, you have the chance to come play for us, come visit soon again. It’s going good.”

Osborne is ranked the No. 17 defensive lineman and the No. 127 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The SDE from Trussville is thought to be weighing his options between Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, and of course Clemson — who is trying to piece together another DL a la their 2016-2017 heyday.

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A few weeks ago, Tyreek Hill made a splash when he proclaimed Tua Tagovailoa the most accurate quarterback in the NFL. He’s had a few weeks to think about it, and to soften the sentiment some. So, when he was interviewed recently by ESPN, did he do that?

Nope. In fact, he doubled down.

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What is the watch word out of Patriots’ camp for Year Two of Mac Jones?

Drastic improvement:

“I think Mac’s done a great job,” Belichick said on Tuesday. “He’s worked extremely hard. He’s got a tremendous work ethic. In all areas, I think there’s a dramatic improvement – his physical work and conditioning, working on his mechanics, working on his footwork, working on his understanding of our offense, of opponent defenses, of situations, all those things. We’ve talked about all those things in varying degrees, some more emphasis than others, and the emphasis on some other things maybe will come later on. Can’t do it all at once, but he’s worked hard.

Even in praise, Bill keeps his cards close to the vest. So, we have no idea what areas Mac has “drastically improved”-upon. But I think we can take the NFL GOAT at his word here.

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Watchlist SZN

Six Bammers were named to the Outland and Nagurski watchlists this morning:

Crimson Tide linebackers Will Anderson and Henry To’o To’o and defensive backs Jordan Battle and Eli Ricks were all named to the Nagurski Trophy watch list. The Nagurski has been awarded to college football’s top defensive player by the Football Writers Association of America since 1993. The award is named after Bronko Nagurski, who played for Michigan and the Bears. UA’s four watch list selections were more than any other team in the nation.

Two Alabama seniors were named to the Outland Trophy watch list in defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe and offensive lineman Emil Ekiyor. The Outland Trophy is annually presented to the best interior lineman in college football, also by the FWAA. It is named after John H. Outland who was one of the few players ever named an All-American at two different positions.

I think these preseason watch lists are just guys thumbing through media guides and writing down all the names of players that they recognize.

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Finally, I think we see the best example of NIL in action; exactly what the system was meant to do. And we find that with the launch of the University of Alabama / Fanatics NIL store inside BDS.

Called The Authentic, the NIL store actually sounds like a great idea and is a good path forward when NIL inevitably gets restricted and the grosser aspects of P4P are removed.

A new retail merchandise store is coming to Bryant-Denny Stadium, and it will be unlike any Alabama gear shop to ever come before it.

The University announced Monday a new partnership with Fanatics that expands an existing relationship between the two, including licensee rights on fan apparel, e-commerce, collectibles and more.

As part of the agreement, Fanatics will launch the first retail team store to open inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, offering not only licensed team apparel but also athlete NIL merchandise, trading cards, and even game-used memorabilia. Student-athletes will also be able to provide the shop with autographed items for sale, and even engage in meet-and-greet sessions with fans.

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Josh is in absentia today, so this was a quick JP for you. We’ve already touched on the academic disaster looming with the NCAA’s proposed transfer rules, But otherwise, it’s kind of a quiet day.

We are 38 days from the start of college football, about 10 days out from Freshmen reporting, and about 14 from Fall Camp opening up. Offseason is almost over. Hang in there, and Roll Tide