If at first you don’t succeed…

… don’t turn pro.

… there is a flurry of rumor abounding regarding two veteran players staying in Tuscaloosa.

The first is the alleged return of Jermaine Burton. Burton did not have the season that he wanted, that’s for sure. He was T-1st in catches among WRs alongside Ja’Corey Brooks. And his stat-line is almost identical to Brooks. But 37 catches, six touchdowns, and about 600 yards is about half the production he was likely looking at reeling in. The point of Alabama was to showcase that he can be a productive wide receiver and get into the NFL. But he and Brooks both have output far closer to WR2 than WR1 at the moment.

If both return (and again, Burton is rumored only), then the battle for WR1 is going to be fierce in the Spring. The return of two veterans on the outside. after the losses Alabama has sustained to the portal, would be a tremendous benefit to a team breaking in 60% of a new offensive line and a new signal caller.

Yeah, I’m sure the departure of Bryce Young can only mean good things for Jermaine Burton’s 2023 stats.

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If you’re Kirby Smart, you’ve got to find an angle.

Because that’s what you do.

“I always look at it and it’s sour grapes now because I’m so happy that we got a chance to play in the SEC championship. We got a chance to win an SEC championship,” Smart told ESPN after the CFP selection show. “But you look and you say OK, I’d like to get my guys a little time to recover, relax, get in shape, worry about final exams. I mean, there’s so many things going on. We got official visits next weekend. But you see a team that maybe didn’t play in a conference championship and now the opportunity for those guys, they’ve had a week off, a week to recoup and get ready.

“They’re going to be fresh and ready to go and ready to bounce back and start practicing. So we got to be smart about how we practice our guys, but we also got to understand it’s gonna be a physical game because Ohio State’s a very physical team.”

That extra week of healing won’t be an excuse after the Peach Bowl, but you know he’s gonna be using that as a warning to the team over the next three weeks.  ‘Cause that’s how the man rolls.

This is how you do it.

My new hero.

Marcus Fulcher scores a touchdown, drinks a fan's beer. FCS football! pic.twitter.com/a678NHvYxV

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 10, 2022

Haterz gone hate.

Really, this is bordering on pathological at this point.

Remember that time when you thought Stetson Bennet was the best college football player in America? Neither do I. pic.twitter.com/4HJUU30Bb2

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) December 10, 2022

It’s a fucking award, and one that hasn’t been particularly relevant for years.  Watching all these folks get their panties in a wad over Stetson Bennett is just bizarre.

That being said, I hope he internalizes all the negativity and rides a giant chip on his shoulder to a couple more wins this season.  I suspect he cares about that even more than winning the Heisman.  I know I do.