Crimson and Coffee: Jahlil Hurley commits on Tuesday
Good morning, Alabama fans, and welcome to Crimson and Coffee. Football is always our focus here but each day we will cover the news, notes and analysis across all Crimson Tide sports. Join us each weekday morning to get caught up on everything you might have missed in the world of Alabama football, recruiting, basketball and more. Enjoy your Crimson and Coffee.
Jahlil Hurley
A big-time in-state prospect plans to announce a verbal commitment to the University of his choice on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Florence (Ala.) cornerback Jahlil Hurley is a 6-foot-2, 168-pound prospect. He is rated as the No. 23 prospect in the nation and the No. 2 player at his position, per the On3 Consensus rankings. That puts him squarely in the mix for five-star consideration. He has offers from pretty much everyone that fields a college football team, but the expectation is that he will choose Alabama over Auburn, Georgia, Penn State, Michigan and others.
We broke down Hurley’s tape last month on the BCS Message Board. He is a highly athletic, long natural cornerback with elite ball skills. We have compared him to former Alabama standout Antonio Langham, perhaps the best cornerback in school history. His upside is very, very high indeed.
Should Hurley choose the Tide, he will join Elliot Washington II as the second commitment in the Tide’s 2023 class and will give Alabama a significant boost, if you care about things like recruiting rankings.
The Tide’s Amazing Softball Start
We hardly even know where to begin when trying to describe this next statement. I suppose this is the most simple way:
Alabama 65
Opponents 7
I am not kidding. No typos, no hyperbole, no fake news. That’s the cumulative score through nine games. And no, Alabama has not played poor competition. Even if they had, would it matter with that score? Yet, Alabama has played three games against Top 10 opponents. The cumulative score in those three games? 14-0.
Over half of Alabama’s nine games have been run-rule games, called short due to the Tide’s huge lead. Basically, another way to describe the season so far is that Alabama’s collection of pitchers throw shutouts while its hitters rain home runs like it’s monsoon season.
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The Tide are hitting on all cylinders. The SEC is brutal. It will only get tougher. But Bama looks well suited to win a metric ton of games and challenge for all the titles. All the pieces appear to be in place for a run to and through Oklahoma City. Hopefully, this isn’t the peak of the season, just a sign of what is to come. Kudos to Patrick Murphy, one of the great coaches on Alabama’s campus, for expertly blending his returning veterans with exciting newcomers, which include freshmen and transfers. Buckle up.
Alabama Baseball
Can’t win them all unless you win the first three. Alabama swept Xavier to open their season, winning 5-4, 5-4 and 9-4. The highlight perhaps was Owen Diodati’s walk-off home run to cap an exciting bottom of the 9th, come-from-behind victory in the season opener on Friday.
Harvard transfer Tommy Seidl put together an exciting performance in Sunday’s game, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Alabama curiously has swept its opening opponent in four of Coach Bohannon’s five seasons at Alabama, and the Crimson Tide are a whopping 37-3 under Coach Bo in games played in February. I guess this sport is a lot of fun and then they make you play SEC games.
