Jumbo Package: Brandon Miller declares for the NBA draft, Jalen Milroe drops a dime

Happy Friday, everyone. The baseball team faces another test as they travel to 6th-ranked Arkansas this weekend, while softball takes on a beatable Mizzou squad in CoMo.

The Gym Tide advanced to the regional final.

Alabama started out the competition with a 49.175 on the balance beam, with Ella Burgess and Shania Adams leading UA’s lineup with matching scores of 9.900. The Tide posted a 49.400 on the floor exercise to pull within .075 of the Wildcats at the halfway point, with Lilly Hudson and Luisa Blanco closing out the rotation with back-to-back 9.900s.

UA scored a 49.275 on the vault in rotation three before closing out the day with a meet-best 49.525 on the uneven bars, as Makarri Doggette (9.950) and Blanco (9.975) topped UA’s lineup.

Blanco posted the highest score of the semifinal with her 9.975 on the uneven bars, with Hudson and Gabby Gladieux also posting the highest scores of the meet on the vault, with matching scores of 9.900.

They will be competing against top-ranked Oklahoma, 9th-ranked Kentucky and 16th ranked Ohio State. The good news is that the top two teams advance to the national championships in Fort Worth. The bad news is that Oklahoma and the Kentucky squad that just finished ahead of them are in the way. Hope for the best.

Brandon Miller announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft. He was also named a Wooden All-American.

Congrats to him. Thus far we have not heard from Noah Clowney or Jahvon Quinerly.

Nick Saban spoke to reporters yesterday on several topics, including his workaholic ways.

“We probably have half a dozen guys or more at every practice and try to spend the mornings on football,” Saban said. “I’ll start at, like, one o’clock in the afternoon and meet with recruits until the two o’clock meeting, and then I’m focused in again on football. And the days we don’t have practice, I make calls from 1-3 (p.m.) to recruits, and if some visit, I visit with them during that time. And the coaches have those blocks of time when I’m recruiting, they’re working on recruiting, whether it’s player evaluations or not.

“Now, me personally, I usually take my little laptop home and evaluate probably four or five players every night. It doesn’t take that long. If I don’t have time to do any during the day, I just take the laptop home and do it at home. But we’ve already watched a lot of players, but we continue to watch as we get new information on guys when they go to combines and things like that. So the evaluation process is very important because we want to get as much information as we can on guys so if they come here it’s a good fit for them and it’s a good fit for us.”

He also reiterated that last year’s pass happy attack was an effort to take advantage of Bryce Young’s strengths while somewhat mitigating an uneven rushing attack. With a green passer this season, look for Alabama to lean much more on a stellar group of running backs.

“I think what we did last year is what we needed to do to try to win, so I’m not being critical of what we did last year,” Saban said. “We didn’t run the ball well enough last year, but we featured the players that we had. Bryce was an outstanding player, and we wanted to have him do what he could do.

“But I think if we have better balance, I think it’ll take a little pressure off the quarterback. I think the offensive line has done a good job so far. I like where we’re heading and what we’re doing. I think the scheme that we have to run the ball is well tied together. Hopefully, between that and play-action passes, we can make a few more explosive plays and not just rely on dropping back all the time. I think that would be very helpful.”

Check out all of Nick’s comments below.

Nate Oats picked up a transfer recently, and Nick Kelly has the details.

For Walton, it’s a return to Tuscaloosa, where he spent the 2021-22 season with Eatmon and averaged 12.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals over 22 games. The Bucs finished 30-5 with a regional title and a spot in the NJCAA national tournament.

“Jaykwon is probably one of the most talented offensive players I’ve ever coached,” Eatmon said. “He’s 6-foot-7, can really, really shoot the 3. Not only can shoot it but he can shoot it with range. Probably one of the best passers I’ve coached as well. He really fits Alabama’s system. He’s long, athletic, loves to play up-tempo style. Again, really, really can shoot the 3.”

Last, Alabama Twitter nearly broke the internet when this video dropped yesterday.

That pass came from Jalen Milroe, and it was absolutely perfect. How can we be so sure that it came from him? He made sure the fans knew it did.

One pass doesn’t equate to mastery, but if he can be an above average passer in addition to his ridiculous running ability, you’re looking at another Heisman contender. The quarterback competition will certainly be intriguing.

That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.