Alabama Crimson Tide: Wednesday was a microcosm of offseason intervals

There are more than 130 days until the Alabama Crimson Tide plays a football game and longer for men’s basketball. The interval can be filled with craziness.

Apologies to other Alabama Crimson Tide sports who are in competition cycles and worthy of our support (especially Alabama Softball) but we are in a lull. Meaning it is a very long time until Alabama football and Crimson Tide men’s basketball plays again.

There is no denying during the college football offseason minds wander. And not always in good directions. It is not just fans. It is media, coaches, players, administrators – all vulnerable to becoming at least momentarily untethered.

What follows can be crazy, dumbfounding, even downright silly. With each passing season, it is increasingly harder to identify the real from the imagined.

Wednesday, Apr. 17 was a good example.

For some Alabama football fans the day began with message board pronouncements backup quarterback Mac Jones had placed his name in the transfer portal. A small digression before more on Mac. Nick Saban asked several months ago “Do we really want free agency” in college sports. Some pundits responded Nick was out of touch and new transfer rules were nothing like free agency. Given every waiver appears to get blanket approval from the NCAA, free agency has arrived.

Back to Mac. Losing Jones for the 2019 season would not be good. The freshmen show no signs of being ready to compete at a championship level should Tua go down. Fortunately, as of Wednesday night, the rumor of Mac transferring has no legs. It probably all began with a fan getting confused about redshirt freshman, Layne Hatcher. Hatcher is reportedly transferring.

Some fans may think message board chatter is almost always inaccurate. Much of the chatter is unneeded clutter but there is also good information that hits boards before being reported by any member of the media. Not many Alabama Crimson Tide fans got caught up in Mac Jones consternation.

The Mac Jones noise was silliness. It is hard to label or define what went on in Baton Rouge.

In the space of 48 hours, LSU reinstated basketball coach Will Wade and ran off Athletic Director, Joe Alleva. What the Bayou frenzy means is unclear.

Some LSU fans believe Wade should have never been suspended by Alleva. After all, he was only recorded on an FBI wiretap, discussing paying for a recruit’s services. This particular argument is Wade has not been proven guilty of anything, and even if he is, every school does it, and Wade WINS.

We call that the Bruce Pearl and Auburn approach to winning basketball. But that is another story.

Other LSU fans and a few national pundits believe Wade will never coach another game at LSU. The school may just be carefully saving itself some money from a possible wrongful termination lawsuit. Once Wade testifies in an upcoming FBI basketball corruption trial, it is believed he will be forced to either lie under oath or incriminate himself.

Wade’s very capable lawyer (also Pearl’s lawyer) may yet get him excused from having to testify.

The other story coming out of Cajun Country is Wade is actually an FBI informant. Using this logic, the phone call was to get the goods on someone else. What is skipped in this theory is the explanation of why Wade would have agreed to be an FBI informant. Informants are usually individuals in some kind of trouble with law enforcement.

Why does the LSU foolishness matter to Alabama Crimson Tide fans? A visceral distaste for LSU is one reason. A more immediate reason is the recruitment of Trendon Watford. Alabama basketball wants and needs Watford. Relationships from the AAU circuit probably meant Watford would have announced a signing with Memphis on Apr. 20.

Except, Watford delayed his announcement. The next morsel is difficult to imagine, but, more than just LSU faithful believe Watford is waiting to see what happens to Will Wade. Wade has long coveted Watford. In no way are we suggesting Wade or LSU is engaged in corrupt recruitment of Watford. The young man and his family do not deserve such unfounded accusation.

We are wondering why the Watfords (if they are) would consider joining such a tarnished program. Wondering until we consider that in many minds, LSU basketball is not tarnished at all. Winning cures all ills and absolves all transgressions. Don’t believe it – just ask Auburn.

There will be many more crazy/silly days between now and Aug. 31. And all the foolishness will not end then, we will just not pay so much attention to it. Except of course, on the Paul Finebaum Show.