UA All-Americans agree: Bama will be tough to top in CFP
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Cookie in hand. LSU commit Austin Deculus is moseying through registration at the Under Armour All-America Game. During his photo session he overhears a conversation about the upcoming College Football Playoff. Deculus loads up the sarcasm and inserts himself into the discussion
The massive offensive lineman musters a laugh and a eye roll before he starts.
“Washington will beat them,” he says, clearly not believing the words coming from his mouth. His facial expressions reveal one feeling but his words are simply part of his duty as an LSU-bound prospect.
Deculus’ words, disingenuous as they may have been, are the closest thing to Alabama-doubt that exits at the event.
Finding any player committed to any school to say that the Crimson Tide will fall short of the national title is difficult task. The nobody-believes-in-us narrative is not available to Nick Saban. Not this year.
Searching for outward hesitance is a meticulous task.
“Nobody can beat them,” said Notre Dame commit Brock Wright. ‘Definitely nobody in the playoff.”
The mention of the question pulls outsiders into the conversation. Ask one prospect if anyone can beat the Tide and another offers his opinion. After Wright offers his option on the matter, uncommitted punter Zachary Feagles, a New Jersey product, yells across a lunch table to get his strong take on record.
“Hell no,” Feagles said, “Nope. Hell no.”
Washington is without a commitment in this year’s Under Armour Game. West Coast-based prospects don’t give the Huskies any more of a chance against Bama. This brush is broad and the opinion, it seems, is sweeping.
“Nope, no way,” said California product Alijah Vera-Tucker, a USC commit. “No way for Washington. Maybe somebody else, and that’s maybe. It’s about the lines on both sides. Alabama is going to dominate on both lines.”
In order to get anything resembling a different opinion, you must rephrase the question. "Which school has the best chance to beat Alabama” gets a more nuanced response. Pose that question to an Alabama commit, like linebacker Markail Benton, and they pause to think before speaking
“I think it would be Clemson,” Benton said. “I mean, Clemson is scarier. Clemson has a good offense, but Alabama has a great defense if you haven’t heard.”
But prying and changing the question is the only way to get anything resembling an in-depth response. Some prospects committed to teams not in the playoffs simply laugh when presented with the possibility that the Tide may lose. Attempting to talk to an Alabama-bound player about such a scenario is asking for an are-you-stupid look.
Even the program’s rivals shrug off the situation. Tennessee commit Maleik Gray gets to the point after having a chuckle. His take is simple. And it’s not one you often hear from Volunteer players.
“They ain’t ever seen thoroughbreds like Alabama,” Gray said.
