Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from the last two days of July. August is here, and you know what that means? Alabama plays football this month!
Alabama loses out on 5-star Tank Jones to Oregon
5-star EDGE Anthony 'Tank' Jones made his college decision and, unfortunately, he chose the Oregon Ducks over the Alabama Crimson Tide. It didn't exactly come as a shock, as things had been trending in that direction the last few days. It's still a disappointing miss, and keeps Kalen DeBoer from the clean sweep of the state he coveted.
You've probably already seen some thinkpieces and high-brow opinions on what this means for the Crimson Tide. The reality is this: Alabama is fine with or without Tank Jones. This is still an elite class of prospects, and they'll likely pivot to some other elite recruits while having a little bit more money available to entice them now that Jones is off the board.
Of course, there's also a long day until National Signing Day, and Alabama won't call off its pursuit of Jones just because he gave the Ducks his verbal commitment.
Updates from Fall Camp have predictably been positive so far
Here are some quick thoughts on each position so far:
QB: Ty Simpson leads the way, but everyone has looked solid.
RB: Depth looks good here, but Alabama needs a difference maker or two to step up.
WR: Loaded position group. Outside of the big three of Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard, and Isaiah Horton, watch out for sophomore Rico Scott.
TE: A healthy TE room! After being down to one healthy TE in spring, this room now looks...crowded. Freshmen Kaleb Edwards and Marshall Pritchett look the part.
OL: The most notable thing so far on the OL: Geno VanDeMark has worked the 1's at LG, ahead of Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry. That's the only position battle going on up-front
DL: Lots of depth here - look for a breakout year from junior James Smith.
LB: Deontae Lawson back at practice is a great sign, albeit with a knee brace and still being limited. Qua Russaw looks noticeably leaner and more explosive.
DB: Alabama is loaded on the back-end. Freshman Dijon Lee is a physical freak, and the coaching staff is not going to be able to keep him off the field.
Ryan Grubb provides an update on the QB battle:
You can read more on OC Ryan Grubb's thoughts on the QB battle here. To summarize: Grubb wants a QB to win the job "yesterday." He stressed that Alabama wasn't there yet, but all of his comments seemed to point to a sizeable lead for Simpson.
It seems increasingly unlikely that Austin Mack or Keelon Russell are going to be able to make up the ground in the competition. At this point, it would be a shock if Simpson isn't taking the first snaps in Tallahassee at the end of the month.