Believe it or not, I actually think this fit of pique over at Roll Bama Roll might serve to kick off an interesting debate.
Last, Brad Crawford at 247sports has three college football position groups ranked ahead of Alabama’s linebackers this year.
4. ALABAMA’S LINEBACKERS
Let’s face it — this group could’ve been ranked No. 1 nationally in this position ranking without much of an argument. That’s how elite the Crimson Tide’s set of outside linebackers are this season with two future top-10 selections leading the way in Will Anderson Jr. and Dallas Turner. The duo combined for 26 sacks and 41 tackles for losses last season. Anderson is college football’s best defensive player and Turner is a rising superstar. And if he wasn’t playing behind two pass-rush monsters on the outside, Chris Braswell would likely be receiving similar praise heading into the season. BamaOnLine reports coming out spring that Nick Saban will likely use all three on the field at the same times in spots this fall.
I don’t know what Brad is smoking, but this group is hands down the best in the sport. He didn’t even mention freshmen Jeremiah Alexander and Jihaad Campbell, both freaks themselves who flashed in the spring game.
Now, it would be silly to pretend that Alabama’s linebackers aren’t the best in the country at their particular position group, but over any position group in the country? Well, here’s who Crawford ranks numero uno:
1. Georgia’s tight ends
(Photo: Getty)
There are not enough footballs to go around for this group in Athens, the most talented collection of tight ends in college football. Brock Bowers was 247Sports’ Freshman of the Year last season after setting several program records at the position, including a team-best 13 touchdown receptions. When another number was called, it was usually Darnell Washington, a red zone and third-down threat whose freakish frame made it difficult on opposing secondaries. And while Georgia’s tight end room was a man down this spring thanks to a labrum injury for Bowers, former LSU transfer Arik Gilbert — 247Sports’ highest-rated tight end recruit, who has worked at wide receiver as well — made the most of his extended reps, including two touchdowns in the spring game.
Gilbert may have the highest upside of the trio and will play a role in several multi-tight end looks this fall within Todd Monken’s offense, ahead of Oscar Delp and Brett Seither on the depth chart. So with Bowers being the obvious favorite to win the Mackey Award, Washington starring as the Bulldogs’ most physical blocker at the position and preferred red-zone threat and Gilbert stretching the field as a tight end-wideout hybrid, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett has a vast group of options in the passing game that will produce in a big way for the defending national champions. There’s at least three future early-round picks at the position, perhaps more when Delp develops.
Three of the top six is nothing to sneer at. That being said, I do think this poses a good topic for a debate, a non-partisan one. Which group is better, in your eyes, and why? Which group has a greater impact on a game?
Have at it in the comments. (Try to refrain from slagging ‘Bama bloggers, though.)
Over at Saturday Down South, Connor O’Gara wrote something about the five SEC offenses he believes are bound to improve in 2022. Putting aside my homer-tinted glasses, I thought there was some logic to thinking Georgia’s might be one of the five — continuity at both offensive coordinator and quarterback, insane talent at the tight end position, just to make a couple of points — but no.
Which is not to say he didn’t consider it. Instead, though, he came up with this:
I don’t think Alabama or Georgia regress on offense. But let’s not forget that the Tide finished No. 6 in FBS while UGA came in only a few spots behind at No. 9. While I’m extremely high on the Tide’s skill-player additions via the transfer portal, I still have concerns about that offensive line. I wonder if that coupled with my belief that Alabama’s defense will be lights out prevents any significant improvement. Alabama might not need to keep its foot on the gas so late in games like last year, when it was in a 1-score game in 6 of 8 4th quarters in SEC play.
I’ll be honest. When I started this, I assumed I’d have UGA as 1 of the 5 teams. Returning Stetson Bennett matters, as does the fact that UGA should have the top tight end room in the nation. Todd Monken will create mismatches galore with Brock Bowers, Arik Gilbert, Darnell Washington and even true freshman Oscar Delp. On top of that, Kendall Milton and Kenny McIntosh have all sorts of potential to lead one of the SEC’s top backfields.
So what’s the holdup? I wonder how much last year’s group was boosted statistically by having that elite defense. In addition to the defensive scores, think about all the short fields that all-generation group created. UGA could actually become more explosive offensively and still end up finishing right around where it did last year.
If I understand that correctly, he believes Alabama’s offense won’t improve because Alabama’s defense will be so stout, it will choose to run the clock out late in games more than before, while Georgia’s offense won’t improve because Georgia’s defense won’t be as stout as it was last season. Am I missing something here? Does that make sense to anyone?
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it’s slowly beginning to dawn on defensive coordinators that selling out against the run to stop Georgia’s offense isn’t an optimal strategy any more. Not to say there still isn’t a ways to go in that regard, at least until Monken and Bennett do some more convincing.
Boosters, consider yourselves on double secret probation.
NCAA Enforcement has released a letter, obtained by @SInow, to member schools regarding NIL. It is “working tirelessly to develop information and investigate potential violations.”
Key phrase: “staff is not focused on the eligibility of current or prospective student-athletes.” pic.twitter.com/4DGtHFQdRY
NIL is for the enrolled. But what exactly can the NCAA do, assuming for the sake of argument that schools step up to control NIL abuse with their own programs and take reporting of infractions seriously?
That might very well survive antitrust scrutiny, but would it be enough of a threat to discourage boosters from throwing money at recruits? I doubt it, mainly because I doubt the NCAA will ever be able to build a case. But we’ll see…
This Mike Griffith piece about moving the Cocktail Party out of Jacksonville — something he’s had a raging hard-on about for a while now — is hilarious, if for no other reason than the results of his Twitter poll.
The #Georgia#Florida Jacksonville contract is up in 2023 and being discussed. What would you like to see Georgia do with its designated home game in the series?
Gee, Georgia fans don’t want to play the game in the Swamp. Who’da thunk it?
Griffith thinks this indicates that Scott Stricklin might have some work to do “in the court of public perception”. Really. You just can’t make this shit up.
“And Georgia fans, don’t be turds. Enjoy this. Soak it up. It’s awesome. If you don’t win this year, it’s still not a failure. It’s a heck of a run. Back-to-back in the Playoff era hasn’t been done. So, to ask for a third I feel like it’s gluttonous. I feel like it’s not OK. But we’ll be in the mix.”-- David Pollack, On3.com, 5/9/23
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