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Jumbo Package: Post-spring analysis is bullish for the Tide

Your latest Crimson Tide news and notes.

NCAA Football: Alabama Spring Game Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Monday, everyone. Softball managed to take two of three from Missouri over the weekend, while baseball took one of three from LSU.

Alex Scarbrough and Chris Low collaborated on a spring SEC recap for you.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but Alabama coach Nick Saban has figured out the transfer portal. Rather than go for wholesale changes, Saban has opted for an approach similar to NFL free agency, filling needs that couldn’t be easily met through recruiting. Former LSU All-American Eli Ricks stepped in for Josh Jobe at corner; Georgia’s former leading receiver, Jermaine Burton, helped replace the production of John Metchie III and Jameson Williams, and former Georgia Tech All-ACC running back/return specialist Jahmyr Gibbs is lined up to replace Brian Robinson. After what we saw this spring, Gibbs appears to give Alabama something it lacked at the position last season: game-breaking speed.

Gibbs certainly made a mark in the spring. The key, of course, will be blocking for him.

College Football News sees big things for the Tide this year.

Here’s the scary part. Last year’s Alabama team wasn’t close to being among Nick Saban’s best, and it was still a Jameson Williams injury away from – very, very arguably – pulling out the national championship.

This year’s team has to replace several stars – what else is new? – but the incoming transfers are great, QB Bryce Young and edge rusher Will Anderson might be the two best players in the country, and now everyone around the program is a wee bit salty after going a whole year without a national title.

Alex Kirshner weighed in on the Jordan Addison saga, and he’s sadly right with this paragraph.

The new world will have its own problems. An explicitly for-profit college football that is made for TV will lack a lot of the charm of the sport you grew up watching. But so does the current one, which revolves all year around the made-for-TV College Football Playoff and prioritizes fans watching games anywhere except in the stadiums where they are played. The next iteration of college football has been on its way for a while. If Jordan Addison did anything by deciding to explore a transfer from Pitt, it was to accelerate a conversation that had already started.

Can’r fight city hall, and city hall has decided that TV dollars reign supreme.

Keyshawn Johnson is not bullish on Sark’s ability to stick at Texas.

If things go south in 2022, maybe he’ll come run the offense in Tuscaloosa again.

John Harbaugh is out here namedropping his brother’s program next to Nick Saban’s.

“There are certain college football programs that are built like NFL programs,” Harbaugh said. “Alabama is one, Michigan is the other one. The two top ones, I would say. Those are the ones I’m thinking of off the top of my head. So those guys generally come in and they know what to expect. It’s a little flatter for those guys in terms of practice and understanding how it works.”

Don’t be silly, John.

Last, DeVonta is pleased with all the SEC players that Philly is collecting.

“You’ve played in the big games,” Smith said. “You don’t really feel like the moment is too big for you. You want guys that have experience playing on stages like that, so I think that helps a lot — just bringing in guys that’s been there, that knows what it takes, that knows what you have to do to get there.”

Philadelphia also used a first-round draft choice on a wide receiver in 2020, but Jalen Reagor hasn’t made the splash produced by Smith during his rookie season. Reagor has 695 receiving yards after two seasons.

That’s about it for today. Have a great week.

Roll Tide.