The University of Alabama was well-represented again this year in the 2015 NFL Draft. The draft, held at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, had seven former Crimson Tide players whose names were called. The following is a list of those seven and where they will be playing professional football:
The first Crimson Tide player taken was WR Amari Cooper. He was the fourth overall pick in the draft and was taken by the Oakland Raiders.
SS Landon Collins was next. He was the second player taken from Bama, number one in the second round, 33rd overall. Collins was drafted by the New York Giants.
The third former Crimson Tider taken in the draft was RB T.J. Yeldon. He was the fourth selection in the second round, and number 36 overall. Yeldon is headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In at the number four former Bama player taken in Round four of the NFL draft was FB Jalston Fowler. He was number 108 overall and went to the Tennessee Titans.
OL Arie Kouandjio was the the 112th overall pick and taken in Round four by the Washington Redskins.
The sixth Bama player taken in the draft was OT Austin Shepherd in the seventh round.
He goes to the Minnesota Vikings.
Bama's seventh draftee in the NFL Draft on Saturday was LB/DE Xzavier Dickson going in the seventh round as the 253rd overall pick. The New England Patriots made the selection.
That rounds out all seven for Crimson Tiders selected in this year's draft. Looking back over the past seven NFL drafts, Alabama has had 48 players selected, 17 of whom went in the first round.
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Softball
Photo courtesy rolltide.com
The Crimson Tide softball team clinched another series victory Saturday night in a big win over Arkansas. Bama's bats were blazing in an impressive 14-2 win at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Alabama (40-11, 16-7 SEC) once again showed their awesome power on the offensive side of the game. Eight of Bama's nine starters put out at least one hit. It was an impressive performance by sophomore Marisa Runyon who hit three home runs in the victory. Runyun is only the second player in program history to hit three home runs in a single game. She has now had four games this season with more than one home run, making her the only player in program history to have four multi-home-fun games in one season. The previous record was set back in 1998 by Kelly Kretschman with three.
Pitcher Leslie Jury (10-3) earned the win. She pitched just over five innings, allowing only six hits and two runs against the Hogs (16-36, 1-22 SEC).
The third and final game of the three-game series is today at approximately 2 PM CDT.
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Football
According to BleacherReport, another prognosticator has stepped forward with selecting Alabama as the odds-on favorite to win the SEC this coming season. Of course it's gotten to where choosing the Crimson Tide to win the Southeastern Conference isn't exactly like standing on a cliff during an earthquake.
5Dimes.com had already selected Bama as a 3-to-1 favorite to win the SEC, with Auburn coming in second.
The latest to toss Bama into the winner's circle is Danny Sheridan. According to Michael Casagrande, Sheridan provided his choice to al.com recently, giving the Tide 8-to-1 odds to take the SEC crown. He, too, selected Auburn second at 12-to-1.
