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Good morning and happy Monday! The NFL Combine has wrapped up in Indianapolis, and now there are still a few weeks to go before the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas. Fortunately, to fill that time, there are spring practices getting started across the country.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll get our first looks at what FBS teams will look like in 2020. Between now and then, though, let’s take a look at some of the current top stories from the college football world.

STEVE SARKISIAN

Alabama OC Steve Sarkisian is staying with the Tide. Why did he choose to remain in Tuscaloosa?

For the first time since the 2016 season, Alabama is heading into the year with stability at the offensive coordinator position. Lane Kiffin was the team’s OC in 2016, but left before the national championship game. Steve Sarkisian took over for that game, then Brian Daboll served as the OC in 2017. In 2018, it was Mike Locksley’s turn to run the Alabama offense. Then, ahead of the 2019 season, Sark was brought back.

Now, heading into 2020, Sark is returning as the Tide’s offensive coordinator. He had options this offseason, but chose to remain in Tuscaloosa. What does this mean for Alabama? Let’s take a look:

  • Sarkisian could have ended up as a head coach once again. Reports had him linked to the open Colorado job once Mel Tucker left, and he interviewed for the position. However, shortly thereafter, he reportedly removed his name from consideration. Colorado has since hired NFL assistant Karl Dorrell to fill the head coach position in Boulder.
  • It is interesting that Sark is staying based on the Tide’s newest QB. Alabama landed 5-star 2020 QB Bryce Young during this recruiting cycle — the No. 1 QB in the class. Young’s family has even admitted that Sarkisian is a huge reason the Crimson Tide ended up on Bryce’s radar at all. Now, he’ll get to work with the player he helped bring to Tuscaloosa.
  • Media members think Sark staying is huge for Alabama in 2020. SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said this decision could be the difference for Alabama as it competes for another national title. Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara thinks the stability provided by Sark sticking with the Tide will be good for both Alabama and the offensive coordinator, professionally and personally.

Alabama finished with the No. 2 scoring offense in the country in 2019, behind only LSU. Yes, the Tide have to replace key players like QB Tua Tagovailoa, OL Jedrick Wills Jr. and WRs Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy, but the cupboard is far from bare in Tuscaloosa. It’ll be interesting to see how the Alabama offense fares under Sarkisian in 2020.

FASTEST 40-YARD DASH TIMES

The 2020 NFL Combine has wrapped up in Indianapolis, and as always, some impressive 40-yard dash times were registered. The NFL is getting bigger, faster and stronger every year, so it’s no surprise to see so many eye-catching sprints.

Alabama WR Henry Ruggs III stood alone atop the leaderboard, recording a time .02 seconds faster than the second-place runner. Here’s a look at all the times from the Combine that came in below the 4.4-second mark (via NFL.com):

  • Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama — 4.27 seconds
  • Javelin Guidry, CB, Utah —  4.29 seconds
  • Quez Watkins, WR, Southern Miss — 4.35 seconds
  • L’Jarius Sneed, S, Louisiana Tech — 4.37 seconds
  • Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor — 4.38 seconds
  • Darnell Mooney, WR, Tulane — 4.38 seconds
  • Javaris Davis, DB, Auburn — 4.39 seconds
  • Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas — 4.39 seconds
  • Antonio Gibson, WR, Memphis — 4.39 seconds
  • CJ Henderson, CB, Florida — 4.39 seconds
  • Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson — 4.39 seconds
  • Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin — 4.39 seconds

Three of the players listed above (Ruggs, Simmons and Henderson) are getting legitimate first-round buzz. However, after running such stellar times, the other guys on the list will see their draft stocks on the rise leaving Indy, too.

B1G COACHING CONTRACTS

Ryan Day and James Franklin received big extensions this week. Can they compete for a title in 2020?

Coaching carousel season went on a little longer than normal this offseason, and one of the final moves involved Michigan State shelling out more than $5 million per year to land Mel Tucker. That prompted a couple of big extensions for a pair of the Big Ten’s top coaches — Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Penn State’s James Franklin.

So, what went into those contracts and why were the extensions given now? Let’s take a look at some of the buzz surrounding these big new deals:

  • We’ll start with Day, who led Ohio State to the Playoff in his first year. Although the Buckeyes lost to Clemson, it is clear Day knows what he’s doing. His agent also knows what he’s doing at the negotiation table, as Day’s extension will pay him $5.7 million in 2020, $6.5 million in 2021 and $7.6 million in 2022.
  • Why did the Buckeyes hand out a huge extension after one year? Saturday Tradition’s Connor O’Gara wrote that, while it certainly makes sense for the Buckeyes to lock down Day, the massive extension comes with some risks, too. Of particular note, O’Gara says Day still needs to prove himself as a top-flight recruiter and as a guy who can keep key staff members around.
  • Then, there’s Franklin, entering Year 7 with the Nittany Lions. His extension won’t pay him as much as Day, but his contract is now for six years and will see him make $5.4 million in 2020 with slight increases each year, ending with a $6.5 million salary in 2025. Saturday Tradition’s Dustin Schutte wrote recently about how everything seems to be lining up for Penn State to make some major noise this fall.

That’s a lot of money being handed out to Day and Franklin. However, in the current coaching market, salaries are soaring. To compete at a high level, you need to have a big bank account. The extensions have been signed, so now we’ll see if the coaches can live up to the money they’ll be making.

GOOD READS

  • Texas A&M is entering Year 3 with Jimbo Fisher as head coach. The first two seasons have drawn mixed reviews, as the Aggies have gone 17-9 overall while facing some tough schedules. Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara says Fisher might start receiving some criticism if things don’t go better in 2020.
  • A number of FBS coaches are coaching at their alma maters. However, some fared better than others as players. Bleacher Report’s Tyler Brooke ranked the 10 coaches currently at their alma maters who had the best playing careers.
  • Colorado has found its new head coach in Karl Dorrell. However, that hire didn’t spark a lot of excitement in the Buffalo fan base. Banner Society’s Jason Kirk took a look at the oddity of the hire and wondered what other types of bizarre hires it could spawn if it works out.
  • Lamar Jackson is the current NFL MVP after a great 2019 season. Lamar Jackson is also a cornerback from Nebraska who is entering the 2020 NFL Draft. Yes, the Nebraska version of Lamar Jackson often has to deal with people being confused by his name. ESPN’s Michael Rothstein profiled Nebraska’s Jackson, who is at the NFL Combine this week trying to improve his draft stock.

NEW RULES

The NCAA has recommended several new rules for 2020. What are they and how will they impact the game?

Almost every year, the NCAA recommends some new rules for football that it thinks will help benefit players, officials and the game, in general. This past week, the NCAA again recommended a few tweaks to the current rule book, and some of the proposed changes are pretty interesting.

Nothing will become concrete until the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel discusses them. That meeting is scheduled for April 16. But, the rule proposals are out there, and you can read all about them here. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most interesting proposed tweaks:

  • Perhaps the biggest proposed change involves replay review. Through the first few years with replays, review time has drastically varied, with some taking several minutes to sort out. The NCAA has recommended a two-minute cap on reviews.
  • Another interesting proposal involves uniform numbers. The new rule would allow players to wear the number 0 on their jerseys for the first time. It would also limit each school to only letting two players share a number, with those players continuing to be restricted from being on the field at the same time. How many No. 0 jerseys will we see in 2020 if that rule passes?
  • Targeting has been a hot-button issue, especially as of late. The NCAA hasn’t proposed any changes to how the rule is implemented on the field, but it has suggested allowing players who are ejected for targeting to remain on the sideline instead of being escorted off the field.

One other minor tweak would allow referees to have jurisdiction over players and coaches on the field 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Currently, they have jurisdiction from 60 minutes before kickoff. How many of these rules will be enacted for the 2020 season? We’ll find out in April.

JUST FOR FUN

We remember champions. Teams at the other end of the standings? Not so much. Can you remember which team from each Power 5 conference (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC) finished with the worst overall record? Hint: The Pac-12 had three teams tie for the worst record.

Scroll down to see the answers to today’s quiz.

ALABAMA QBs

 Alabama tried to get a couple of big-name transfer QBs to come as backups in 2018. Why didn’t they join the Tide?

Heading into the 2018 season, Alabama was fresh off a national championship and entered the year with Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa slated to compete for the starting job. However, coach Nick Saban wanted to solidify that third-string quarterback spot.

So, he made a couple of offers that turned out to be really interesting with the benefit of two years of hindsight. Let’s take a look at what could have been at the quarterback position in Tuscaloosa:

  • This is on our minds because of recent comments from Joe Burrow. The Heisman Trophy-winning LSU QB is expected to be the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he was a bit of an afterthought when transferring out of Ohio State ahead of the 2018 season. He recently revealed that Alabama wanted him to come serve as the third-string quarterback that year. “People like Alabama were calling me and wanted me to be their third-string quarterback and I was like, ‘Me? You guys must not know about me yet,’” Burrow said.
  • That was an interesting statement because of another offer Alabama made. Perhaps you’ll recall that Alabama once had a commitment from a transferring East Carolina QB named Gardner Minshew II that offseason. Minshew was going to transfer to Alabama to serve as the third-string quarterback and get a head start on his coaching career under Nick Saban. Instead, he went to Washington State and ended up leading the nation in passing.
  • Saban missed out on both, obviously, and the Minshew decision really hurt. Per Peter King, Saban was “really disappointed” by Minshew’s decision to go to Washington State. Of course, Alabama still made it to the College Football Playoff title game in 2018 with Tagovailoa leading the way and Hurts as the backup, but it’s fun to imagine what a Tagovailoa/Hurts/Burrow or Tagovailoa/Hurts/Minshew quarterback room would have been like.

So, for those keeping track at home, it appears other teams should keep an eye on what transfer quarterbacks the Tide are interested in. It seems Saban has a good feel for which quarterbacks are about to become superstars, if Minshew and Burrow are any indication.

ANSWERS

Here are the schools that finished with the worst overall records in each Power 5 conference in 2019:

  1. ACC — Georgia Tech (3-9)
  2. Big 12 — Kansas (3-9)
  3. Big Ten — Rutgers (2-10)
  4. Pac-12 — Stanford, UCLA, Arizona (4-8)
  5. SEC — Arkansas (2-10)

We’ll see if any of these teams can turn things around in 2020.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I feel like Auburn has come around as the best in that state. So I really feel like the next couple years we’re gonna show that. Recruiting, everything. The coaches are winning. So I’ll see. We’ll all see.”

– Former Auburn DB Noah Igbinoghene says Auburn is about to prove it has passed Alabama as the best team in the Yellowhammer State.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will talk until he’s done. Don’t try to cut Dabo off!