What Saban Said About Quarterback Transfers
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| Alabama Football Head Coach Nick Saban Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Of course everyone knows of the looming departure of Alabama Crimson Tide quarterbacks Cooper Bateman and David Cornwell. Though the timing may have been unexpected, the announcements weren't. When true freshman Jalen Hurts won the starting job over them, most expected the exits. And now that Hurts is picking up some major bling for his record-setting and near-record-setting accomplishments, it would be hard for this pair to unseat him next season.
Will they stay or will they go? That seems to be the question. Will the pair remain to finish the season and help the Crimson Tide should they be needed to complete the process? To go on and be a part of another possible national championship?
Alabama head coach Nick Saban had this to say just prior to the College Football Awards Show in Atlanta, "Oh, yeah, absolutely. They have every intention of finishing the season."
Saban has no problem with situation, not to say he should.
"I think these are situations when a younger guy won the job this year
that these guys want to play someplace, and we want to...Cooper is a
graduate, so he'll be a graduate transfer, and we're very supportive of
these guys," Saban said. "They've done a fantastic job for us, and we
hope that they get a good opportunity and a chance to play someplace.
But they will be with our team, and they're all anxious to finish the
season with us."
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Winter Commencement Is Today At UA
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Today is a very big deal for more than 30 University of Alabama student-athletes. It's commencement day, the day to receive their degrees and the realization of not only their hopes, but the hopes and dreams of proud parents and guardians who have nurtured them their entire lives. More than 12 different Crimson Tide teams are represented in today's winter commencement activities.
Football has the most receiving degrees today, with a total of 16. Three of these student-athletes from the football team earned master's degrees this semester. These three are Alphonse Taylor, Dakota Ball and Brandon Green. 2016 Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award winner Jonathan Allen, All-American Eddie Jackson, Southeastern Conference Championship Game Most Valuable Player and Butkus Award winner Reuben Foster, Blaine Anderson, Anthony Averett, David Cornwell, Raheem Falkins, Truett Harris, Jake Long, Cole Mazza, Brandon Moore and Joshua Palet will also be picking up their bachelor's degrees.
For the final member of the Crimson Tide football family earning his bachelor's degree this semester on will have to go back quite a few years. Oh, but it's a name well-known to the Bama faithful, and one who contributed to the legend that is Alabama football. He is Marty Lyons. The First Team All-American was part of Alabama's famous Goal Line Stand against Penn State back in the 1979 Sugar Bowl.
The Alabama track and field/cross country program has seven members receiving degrees today, including All-Americans Ahmed Ali and Andrew Harris. Also included are Josh McCullan and Kevin Shannon from the men's squad and All-SEC honoree Meropi Panagiotou as well as Allison Gregg and Anna Reed from the women's team.
The soccer team will have three getting degrees today. They are Caroline Alexander, Auburn Mercer and Kaylee Semelsberger.
Others from various Alabama sports teams include All-Americans Brett Walsh (men's swimming and diving) and Janie Jackson (women's golf) along with All-SEC honorees Becker O'Shaughnessy (men's tennis) and Ashley Williams (women's basketball), All-Region Andrea Hawkins (softball) along with Nyia Owen (rowing), Mattie Weldy (volleyball) and Leah Bird (women's swimming and diving).
Congratulations to you all...and Roll Tide!
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Houston, You Have A Real Problem
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| Twitter Photo |
It would appear that the powers-that-be over at the University of Houston may have left their brains in the Uber vehicle they used to get to work.
Major Applewhite over Lane Kiffin for head coach at Houston? Come on, this has to be a joke.
I guess Houston got what it wanted though, Alabama head coach Nick Saban's offensive coordinator. Possibly, no, probably the worst one he ever had, but an OC of Saban nevertheless. Oh, to be fair, Applewhite has done an alright job as the Houston offensive coordinator.
Expect the honeymoon to be short...and not so sweet. Oh, sure, Applewhite may surprise us all. But the general consensus around the country is that Houston's choice...could have been better. "I said all along, we're not going to have a contract in place for
our new coach where it's going to be easy for him to jump in two years,
Okay?"
According to Al.com, Fertitta said on a video posted to Twitter by Joseph Duarte of the
Houston Chronicle. "If he wants to jump, somebody better really want him
bad, OK?
"I think you can look forward to Major being here for many years, OK, but he better win nine, 10, 11 games a year, too, from our standpoint, OK? We did get rid of a coach (Levine) that won eight games three years ago. Don't ever forget that. We expect to win at the University of Houston."
Win. Really? Since 1991 the University of Houston has finished a season only ranked twice. Twice! And those were in Kevin Sumlin's last year and Tom Herman's first year.
Sounds like the future of Lane Kiffin is still up in the air. But it also sounds like that's better than having to have been named the head coach at Houston.
Wherever Kiffin winds up, the school is getting a really good coach. Who knows? He may even be staying at Alabama. However, he wants to be a head coach again, and there are schools that are and will be interested.
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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How 2017 National Recruiting Shakes Out
Though the University of Alabama football team currently has the number one recruiting class for the Class of 2017, the lead is slim over second-place Ohio State. Alabama currently has four 5-star commits, 14 4-star, and five 3-star commits for 2017, for a total of 24 commits (adding one not ranked). Ohio State has a total of 16 commits, with six 5-stars, 9 4-stars and one 3-star commit. Those two extra 5-stars add a lot of weight to the "point totals", with the Buckeyes behind Bama by less than nine.
There are 10 teams from the Southeastern Conference in the Top 25 recruiting for the 2017 class, with five of those being in the Top 10. Those from the SEC are Alabama (1), Georgia (3), LSU (5), Texas A&M (7), Tennessee (10), Auburn (11), South Carolina (14), Florida (20), Mississippi State (22) and Arkansas (25).
Outside the Top 25, Kentucky comes in at No.33, Missouri (38), Vanderbilt (57) and Ole Miss (59).
Here is how the national recruiting picture shakes out:
1 Alabama Crimson Tide
2 Ohio State
3 Georgia
4 Oklahoma
5 LSU
6 Notre Dame
7 Texas A&M
8 Clemson
9 Michigan
10 Tennessee
11 Auburn
12 Miami
13 Florida State
14 South Carolina
15 USC
16 Washington
17 Penn State
18 Maryland
19 Colorado
20 Florida
21 North Carolina
22 Mississippi State
23 Arizona
24 Nebraska
25 Arkansas
