That was the least enjoyable Spring Game Iāve seen since 2010. I sure hope that doesnāt translate into a 2010 type season for Bama. Look, I know theyāre young and had a lot of players out with injuries but man they didnāt look sharp very often. I came wanting to see which QB, Milroe or Simpson, would play better and if the O-line had improved. Well, it turned out the best looking QB that afternoon was the freshman Lonergan. Holstein on the other hand played like a true freshman. He certainly looks the part of a prototypical big time QB or at least what prototypical QBās used to look like ā¦ but he didnāt play well.
As for the O-line, Saban had split up who I thought were going to be the starting five so it was impossible to see any of the cohesiveness I was hoping to see. Granted you canāt tell much from the Spring games but you can get a feel for some intangibles. Like seeing if any alphaās on the defense had emerged. Thatās something thatās been missing for several seasons. Too many of the potential alphas were out so itās impossible to say none exist on this team. Though, I can say none of the ones who played Saturday fit that bill. To me, if this team competes for the NC this season, Saban should several COYās this season. If they win the NC then Saban should take home every COY award out there.
The pundits and haters think Bama should always have a NC caliber team because they recruit so well year after year ā¦ but it takes a hell of lot more than great recruiting classes to win NCās. Thatās especially true in the era of the transfer portal. Many of the great recruits from the past few classes have already transferred out. Remove them from the recruiter site calculations and suddenly theyāre no longer top 3 classes. Nonetheless, I put my trust in the GOAT. Saban seems to love rising to a steep challenge and this season will be a challenge for sure.
The pups will have the bullseye on their back this season which will take some of the load off of Bama. Fortunately for the pups though, theyāve got a super easy schedule. Now, I live in Georgia so of course, I wear my Bama gear every chance I get. Up until last season, my fellow Georgians rarely if ever commented on my attire. This year though, theyāre all ten foot tall and bulletproof. In Loweās yesterday, one of the pup fans said āSo youāre a Bama fan? I laughed and said what gave it away Columbo? My bright crimson and white t-shirt with 2020 NC on it? He responded by saying āIāve just got two words for you: three-peat. And thatās something your precious Bama has never accomplishedā. I didnāt correct him on his word count faux pas. I just laughed and told him to look me up when his pups had won 13 NCās in 60 years. To my delight, my final comment brought about a chorus of boos from peanut gallery. I say all of that to say, Iām hoping the pups lose a handful of games. Which means, Iāll probably be pulling for the vileās and cow patty u folks to upset them. 99.999 % of the time I do not pull for either of them unless their winning demonstrably helps Bama. So, I guess this looks to be a .001% type of season! RTR!