I spent the better part of the last few days watching the NFL draft. For those of you who've read a few of my posts, you realize for me it was hopeful (at least in a few years...) process, because I do root for Da Bears. As I watched, though, I did have to think about how our roster building has changed so much and so many times since we entered the SEC. At first, it was how are we going to win some games because we simply aren't built the same way? We had some good, in some instances, great, players, with whom we could compete with the bullies on the block. Because of that, we were able to affect some of the ways the Bamas, LSUs and Georgias of the world recruited and how their rosters were constructed. Shortly thereafter, scheme, rule and coaching changes, along with some generational roster additions to the conference, left the 3 yard and a cloud of dust offenses, in the dust. For us, some questionable decisions, defections, injuries and complacency led to Sumlin's ouster. By the time he left, we just didn't have enough bigger, faster and more talented players to keep up consistently on the field.
Jimbo, with some glaring exceptions, has mostly restocked the talent on our roster during his tenure. What he has struggled with most is keeping up with the changes in the game itself and to a lesser extent, some player development. 2019 was extremely humbling for Saban at Bama, so humbling if fact, he handed over over the keys for what he had always believed in, offensively and defensively. He replaced bruising Heisman Trophy running backs and mistake adverse quarterbacks with 4 wide lightning fast receivers and Heisman Trophy quarterbacks. 260 pound thumping linebackers were replaced with twitchy sideline to sideline guys who were great in pass coverage. The game changed so he reluctantly changed with it. Even though programs like Bama and Georgia are always going to be able to stack players, he and Smart also quickly adapted to the "new" NCAA transfer rules as well. If he hasn't kept up with Smart the last couple of years, he's at least almost kept pace.
Enter NIL a couple of years ago. If I were to give example of a program doing their best to understand this new era of college football, Saban and Smart would only have to look a few miles north to Knoxville. From McDonald's bags and dumpster fires to a shot at the playoff?! Heupel knows he won't consistently go toe to toe with the Big Dawgs (or Elephants) in recruiting, but with NIL, the portal and a crazy exciting offense, at least to a lot of fans these days, he doesn't have to.... I'm old school and still like good defense, so I'll exclude myself a little. Jimbo is now where Saban was three years ago. Do we have the blazing speed of the Smith/Waddle Bama or the talent of Burrow's LSU? Nope, but we aren't the Little Giants, either. We simply need to utilize the talent we have in an effective modern offense. Enter Bobby Petrino. We also need to keep recruiting bigger, faster and more talented players from the prep ranks and transfer portal. Enter Jimbo's All Star Staff. Lastly, we need to up our NIL game. Enter the Greatest Former Students in the World!
For two days watching the NFL Draft, all I heard were the praises of a great slot corner from a university somewhere down south. All the self proclaimed experts kept pontificating on why this kid was "slipping" down the draft board and how they couldn't understand it. Good player, named Brian Branch. I kept wondering if he remembered another good player named Ainias Smith....
Gig'em!!!
Jimbo, with some glaring exceptions, has mostly restocked the talent on our roster during his tenure. What he has struggled with most is keeping up with the changes in the game itself and to a lesser extent, some player development. 2019 was extremely humbling for Saban at Bama, so humbling if fact, he handed over over the keys for what he had always believed in, offensively and defensively. He replaced bruising Heisman Trophy running backs and mistake adverse quarterbacks with 4 wide lightning fast receivers and Heisman Trophy quarterbacks. 260 pound thumping linebackers were replaced with twitchy sideline to sideline guys who were great in pass coverage. The game changed so he reluctantly changed with it. Even though programs like Bama and Georgia are always going to be able to stack players, he and Smart also quickly adapted to the "new" NCAA transfer rules as well. If he hasn't kept up with Smart the last couple of years, he's at least almost kept pace.
Enter NIL a couple of years ago. If I were to give example of a program doing their best to understand this new era of college football, Saban and Smart would only have to look a few miles north to Knoxville. From McDonald's bags and dumpster fires to a shot at the playoff?! Heupel knows he won't consistently go toe to toe with the Big Dawgs (or Elephants) in recruiting, but with NIL, the portal and a crazy exciting offense, at least to a lot of fans these days, he doesn't have to.... I'm old school and still like good defense, so I'll exclude myself a little. Jimbo is now where Saban was three years ago. Do we have the blazing speed of the Smith/Waddle Bama or the talent of Burrow's LSU? Nope, but we aren't the Little Giants, either. We simply need to utilize the talent we have in an effective modern offense. Enter Bobby Petrino. We also need to keep recruiting bigger, faster and more talented players from the prep ranks and transfer portal. Enter Jimbo's All Star Staff. Lastly, we need to up our NIL game. Enter the Greatest Former Students in the World!
For two days watching the NFL Draft, all I heard were the praises of a great slot corner from a university somewhere down south. All the self proclaimed experts kept pontificating on why this kid was "slipping" down the draft board and how they couldn't understand it. Good player, named Brian Branch. I kept wondering if he remembered another good player named Ainias Smith....
Gig'em!!!
