Alabama Football: Crimson Tide fans hoping for a normal spring schedule while scholarship numbers could become a bigger challenge.
The Alabama football program is unchallenged in onfield success. Certainly, Crimson Tide head man Nick Saban is a reason why. What sometimes gets little notice is how good the Alabama football program is off the field.
Greg Byrne, Nick Saban, the Alabama football medical and trainer staff, and all of Tide football assistants and support people deserve credit. In a season when many programs were hampered by COVID restrictions, quarantines and players and coaches contracting the virus, the Crimson Tide was not immune. However, careful planning and attention to detail kept the pandemic from disrupting what became paths to three 2020 Championships.
Football and basketball programs with inadequate planning and failed execution got far different results. A recent count has canceled or postponed college basketball games well over 700. Nick Saban and Nate Oats got the virus but recovered quickly and with little adverse effect to their teams. College basketball will use the bubble approach for the NCAA Tournament with all the games in or near Indianapolis, IN. In the SEC, South Carolina, Florida, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M have struggled with virus issues. So far the worst result is all SEC teams are not expected to play an equal number of regular-season games. The SEC Basketball Tournament will take place in Nashville as scheduled.
The current plan is for a normal spring in football. The 4th Quarter program is in full swing. Actual practice is expected to begin around March 19. The school will not have a spring break this year. Nick Saban usually practices his team a couple of sessions before the annual break. With no break, an unofficial, projected date for the A-Day game is April 17. There has also been no official word on attendance restrictions for A-Day. Hopefully, a capacity larger than the 2020 regular season will be allowed.
There are some recent potential scholarship complications Nick Saban may have to manage. As we posted a couple of weeks ago, the current count of scholarship players is believed to be 91. The announced transfer of Tennessee linebacker, Henry To’oto’o and his interest in the Crimson Tide could increase the number above the NCAA limit from six to seven, with the number later going to eight. Nick Saban still hopes to land J.T. Tulmoloau sometime before summer. The 5-Star wants to take visits before a decision and it appears the NCAA will soon extend the current ‘Dead Period’ through May.
Future NCAA and SEC decisions could also impact whether To’oto’o can play in 2021 or will have to wait until the 2022 season. For a third time in recent months, the NCAA is now expected, in an April approval, to allow immediate transfer eligibility, for at least the 2021 season.