From Mac Jones to Mock Drafts, 5 Things Alabama Fans Should Know: All Things CW

Have you ever seen something suddenly spin so hard that it immediately bounced around and ricocheted in ways that were completely unexpected and unpredictable?

That's kind of what happened with the New England Patriots and Mac Jones this past week. The former Alabama football standout was drawing all sorts of attention from all corners of the league after reports stated that the team had been in some trade talks regarding its 2021 first-round selection (15th overall).

The rumor mill went from spinning over the idea that New England head coach Bill Belichick had openly shopped Jones, to former Sports Illustrated writer Peter King saying on a podcast for NBC: "If the Patriots somehow, somewhere can find a landing spot for Mac Jones, how interesting would it be to have the Patriots then go try to make a deal with Lamar Jackson?"

Fans obviously love that kind of speculation, especially right before the NFL draft, but let's take a step back. 

Jones has been putting in extra work this offseason, especially with former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien returning to New England to reprise the same role with the Patriots. You just don't trade away a quarterback right after hiring an offensive coordinator to work with him. 

Also, this really wasn't anything new. SI's Albert Breer wrote back in February that Belichick didn't like how Jones had gone about things last season. 

Moreover, the Patriots might think they have two potential starters with Bailey Zappe's emergence. If so, it only makes sense that they would test the markets to see what either might bring in a deal. 

This week, Breer wrote: "I do think Belichick is going to make Jones earn his spot back, and that’ll leave the door open for Bailey Zappe to compete for it."

Now that makes sense, especially since coaches always believe that competition makes both an individual and team stronger. He also had: "It doesn’t mean a trade is coming. It does mean relationships here are in a weird spot."

Here are five other things that got our attention this past week: 

1) Spending on Recruiting 

USA Today published the latest figures on what top football programs have been spending on recruiting lastely, and Alabama turned a lot of heads by its ability to do more with less. 

While Georgia has gone from spending $2.27 million in 2017 during Kirby Smart's first year with the Bulldogs, to $4.51 million, it got beat by Alabama in the recruiting rankings for the Class of 2023. 

Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide was seventh in spending last year, at $2.3 million, which was very close to its average since 2018 ($2.36 million). 

That wasn't the most surprising thing, though. 

Remember when Texas A&M inked the top-rated signing class in history with the Class of 2022? It reportedly spent $691,591 during the covid year of 2021, when everyone else's spending made a comparable drop. However, last year the Aggies spent $2.98 million and finished 15th in the recruiting rankings. 

Hunh?

Meanwhile, from 2017-22, Georgia spent the most on average at $2.75 million, followed by Alabama at $1.91 million, but third was Tennessee at $1.79 million. Yet the Vols didn't land a top-10 class until this year under Josh Heupel, while UT has been charged with 18 Level 1 recruiting violations by the NCAA. 

2) Speaking of Tennessee ... 

Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reported that Tennessee, including former head coach Jeremy Pruitt and former defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley, are scheduled to appear before the Committee on Infractions in Cincinnati on April 19-21. The NCAA has already negotiated multiyear show-cause penalties with four people associated with the investigation, including inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer, a former Alabama graduate assistant under Pruitt when he was the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator.

Keep an eye on this. Dellenger wrote it's "become a somewhat contentious fight between each of the three parties and the association," but our understanding is that may be a huge understatement. 

3) Three is the Magic Number 

Before turning to the the upcoming drafts, SI compiled a list of The Best Draft Pick of All Time for Each NFL Team, which included three former Crimson Tide players. 

• Atlanta Falcons, Julio Jones, WR, 2011: "While Matt Ryan, Claude Humphrey, Deion Sanders and even Tommy Nobis have strong cases, Jones is the right call. Once he retires, it won’t be a long wait until he gets the call for Canton, with a case led by 10 great years in Atlanta. Jones is a two-time first-team All-Pro, a seven-time Pro Bowler and a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team. He led the league twice in receiving yards and once in receptions, all while posting six consecutive years of at least 1,394 yards." 
• Green Bay Packers, Bart Starr, QB, 1956: "Here’s an example of needing value to break ties. The Packers have had scores of great draft picks over their history, but none match Starr’s talent, value and importance. A 17th-round pick in 1956 out of Alabama, Starr was initially a benchwarmer until coach Vince Lombardi arrived in ’59. Starr eventually led the Packers to five world championships in seven years, including the NFL’s only modern three-peat from 1965 to ’67. Starr also won MVP honors in ’66 and was named to the All-Decade Team as an iconic member of Green Bay’s dynastic run."
• New York Jets, Joe Namath, QB, 1965: "Few players have ever been more important to pro football than Namath. Selected by both the Jets and Cardinals when the AFL and NFL had separate drafts, New York outbid St. Louis and altered the course of history. Namath engineered an incredible upset in Super Bowl III, winning MVP honors in a 16–7 win over the Colts. Despite horrid knees, Namath was a two-time AFL Player of the Year and a five-time Pro Bowler, while also becoming the first pro passer to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He ultimately became a Hall of Famer in 1985."

The way players change teams nowadays, it may be a long time until another Crimson Tide player achieves comparable status. 

4) NBA Mock Draft 

The FanNation Site NBA Draft Digest pointed out that with the regular season wrapping up, NBA teams are nearly done grappling for draft positioning. Tankathon, which does projections that factor in team needs, and updates its draft order following each result every night, has the Crimson Tide's Brandon Miller going third to the San Antonio Spurs, and Noah Clowney at No. 31 to the Detroit Pistons 

4) NFL Mock Draft I 

This won't surprise anyone, but SI’s Gilberto Manzano's latest mock draft (6.0) included three former Alabama players in the first round:

• No. 1 Carolina Panthers (via Bears), Bryce Young: "Young is the most polished quarterback in the draft, and the Panthers want a quarterback who can contribute immediately. Young’s height and narrow frame are concerning, but Carolina will likely overlook those with an impatient owner and after three years of poor quarterback play from veterans. Young can play now, he’s a standout playmaker away from the pocket and he would have a stout offensive line to protect him in Carolina.
• No. 3 Arizona Cardinals: Will Anderson Jr.: "There’s a strong chance Arizona will trade out of this spot, and it might be via a swap with Indianapolis, which wouldn’t disrupt this mock draft by much. But let’s be real, we will be lucky if we get more than five picks right. Two things, however, are certain: The Cardinals won’t draft a quarterback in the first round, and they desperately need defensive line help. Anderson has the speed and power to rack up sacks in the NFL. 
• No. 30 Philadelphia Eagles, Brian Branch: "Branch’s NFL comparison might be C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who left the Eagles for the Lions during free agency. Like Gardner-Johnson, Branch can play as a safety and slot cornerback. Branch has the ball skills to become a full-time safety, but he has the versatility to play at multiple positions."

As teams start to finalize their draft boards over these last couple of weeks, be wary of any reports coming out out of nowhere that could dramatically influence someone's status. This is known as the time of disinformation for a reason. 

5) NFL Mock Draft II 

Circling back to Tankathon, it's latest three-round projected mock draft included eight former Crimson Tide players. That would be impressive, and is highly possible. 

By round:

• First: No. 2 Young, quarterback, Texans; 3. Anderson, edge, Cardinals; No. 21 Branch, safety, Chargers
• Second: No. 51 Jahmyr Gibbs, running back, Dolphins; No. 62 Jordan Battle, safety, Eagles
• Third: No. 87 Eli Ricks, cornerback, Vikings; No. 95 Henry To'oTo'o, linebacker, Chiefs; No. 99 Tyler Steen, tackle, 49ers (compensatory pick). 

 5 Other Things ... 

While we have your attention: 

1) Alabama is fifth in this academic year's Learfield Director's Cup standings behind Ohio State (858 points), Texas (785.75), Stanford (754.50), and North Carolina (686.50). The Crimson Tide has 634.25 points. 

Maybe the biggest surprise is that the ACC has the most teams in the top 25 with seven including UNC (4), NC State (9), Virginia (10), Notre Dame (12), Louisville (15), Duke (17) and Pittsburgh (22).

2) In the wake of the biggest women's NCAA basketball tournament ever (and second place isn't close) Congresswomen Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) have introduced the Women in NCAA Sports (WINS) Act, which would “establish a 16-member congressional commission to study equality in the NCAA’s operation of tournaments and other programs for which there are men’s and women’s divisions” and make a final report to Congress.

Granted, Congress can't seem to agree on anything these days, and the NCAA already has enough enough going on in Washington DC (like last week's hearing about “NIL chaos” in collegiate athletics), women's basketball may have more momentum in terms of growth than ever before. 

3) Conference USA announced that the 2024 and 2025 men's and women's basketball tournaments will be held at Propst Arena in Huntsville. 

4) It should noted it was announced before Texas A&M's Sam Bennett got off to such a great start this week that beginning with this this year's NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, the collegiate individual champion each year will earn an invitation to play in the Masters. However, last year's NCAA champion Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt, was part of this year's field with a special invitation (and missed the cut by five strokes). 

5) Best line we heard from the Frozen Four came from Minnesota coach Bob Motzko about NIL: “You’re hearing million-dollar deals for football and basketball. Our players get burritos.”

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh regularly appears with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide.