Jumbo Package: Jahvon Quinerly enters the portal

Happy Monday, everyone. Alabama basketball got some tough news when Jahvon Quinerly put his name into the transfer portal.

Quinerly’s decision to enter the transfer portal comes just one month after he decided to withdraw his name from NBA Draft consideration and return to school for one final season.

Alabama coach Nate Oats has been busy in the transfer portal this offseason, landing Hofstra guard Aaron Estrada and Cal State-Fullerton guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Estrada is a two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and Wrightshell earned All-Big West honors last season.

While we can’t get inside JQ’s head, Nick Kelly is probably on the right track.

Quinerly staying would have led to a conundrum in how to decide who starts for UA at guard. But even without Quinerly, Alabama will still have some tough decisions on how to distribute guard minutes.

Sears, a second team All-SEC player in 2022-23, and Estrada, who averaged 20.2 points for Hofstra last season, are likely top of the list at the position. Griffen could also be in the mix for the shooting guard spot, but he also might make sense at small forward, depending on what kind of lineup Oats wants.

Alabama also has transfer Latrell Wrightsell Jr. from Cal State Fullerton; he averaged 16.3 points and was named to the first-team All-Big West. Plus, there’s Cosby, who has already spent half a year with the program having been an early enrollee. And Alabama could add one more name to the mix.

It is highly likely that Quinerly was looking at a sixth man role again, and with only one year of eligibility left he may wish to go be The Man somewhere. The timing of it all is a bit strange, however. College basketball writer Jeff Goodman believes that this should be too late for immediate eligibility.

The football portal deadline is right at four months from the opening game, and Quinerly is still in that range.

Christopher Walsh decided to ruin everyone’s day with some nonsense.

Division I-AA never had a bowl system, so during its inaugural season of 1978 a four-team playoff was established. It featured the top team from three regions (East, West and South) and one at-large team.

Three years later, the playoff was expanded to eight teams. A season after that, 1982, it grew to 12 teams. In 1986, the brackets were bumped up to 16 teams. That lasted until 2010, when 20 teams participated, and in 2013 the field was expanded to its current format of 24 teams.

Seriously, does anyone think the CFP will stay at 12 teams for long? The Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the FCS (13 conferences with 125 teams) have almost the exact same number of participating programs, and no matter where the line is drawn expanding the playoff will always be a topic of discussion.

I don’t even want to talk about that.

All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson is impressed with all of his Eagles teammates from Alabama, and Tyler Steen is the latest to catch his eye.

“I’ve found all those guys extremely talented, extremely durable,” Johnson said of his Alabama teammates, “and that’s really the reason that they’ve been so successful. They get great players and usually it transitions extremely well to the league.”

Steen joined Philadelphia in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The left tackle for Alabama in 2022, Steen worked at guard, too, during his stop at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in February, and his path to the field as a rookie with the Eagles appears to be at right guard.

“You can see the footwork of a talented left tackle and you can see the body of a guard that’s getting it done in the middle,” Johnson said of Steen. “A young guy, but when you see his attributes, his length, his height, especially how he moves his feet, I’m definitely excited.”

If Steen wins the job, Philly’s guards will be him and LaDick.

2025 WR commit Ryan Williams is recruiting like crazy.

“I tell them you’re gonna win and you’re gonna get some rings,” said Williams, who plays at Saraland (Ala.) High. “And we’re gonna bring in big recruiting classes for the next few years. I mean, it’s pretty set in stone.”

As Williams attended the weekend festivities in Bradenton, the No. 1 quarterback in his class, Michigan native Bryce Underwood, was in Tuscaloosa checking out Alabama.

Williams, meanwhile, was busy chasing prospects for his future head coach. He said there were “two or three guys” Saban directed him to spend time with, though he wouldn’t reveal the targets. He did say he plans on recruiting his high school quarterback — Texas commit KJ Lacey — to Alabama until the very end.

“I think there might be some surprises down the road,” Williams said.

I linked this next one just for the amusement. Nothing is funnier than an aggrieved coonass. This one thinks that summer decommitments are a new trend.

Regardless, we think the de-commitment trend is more about players seeking or reveling in the attention from college coaches. For example, it was no secret that Brown pushed hard for Ferguson’s attention after his LSU commitment. Conversely, the Tigers did not forget about Ferguson, but their focus understandably shifted to the next player.

Recency bias has much to do with situations like Zion Ferguson’s. His most recent visit was to North Carolina; thus, all the emotion he felt during his last trip to Baton Rouge is somewhat forgotten. We can say the same about Galloway, who was recently photographed during an official visit to UCF.

We’re not hating on the players whatsoever. Regardless of their reasoning, these young men can choose the program they want to play for. However, their situations are frustrating, becoming too frequent, and dampening our excitement toward LSU football recruiting.

Last, getting drafted #2 overall had to be thrilling enough, but imagine having this particular phone conversation as a young up and coming basketball star.

May Brandon and Bryce own Charlotte.

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

Roll Tide.