All Things CW: How Alabama's Receiving Tight Ends Went in Different Directions

The final tally on Alabama's dropped passes last season, 5 Things That Got Our Attention This Week, and an interview with Shaun Alexander at the Super Bowl.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One of the lasting images of the National Championship Game was Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien being animated in the press box when the Crimson Tide's initial drive stalled in the red zone, resulting in a field goal. 

Specifically, on third-and-5 at the Georgia 19, sophomore quarterback Bryce Young looked to junior tight end Jahleel Billingsley, who slipped or something on his route, resulting in a crucial incompletion. It ended a 14-play, 56-yard drive that with a touchdown could have set a very different tone in the game.

Instead, it was just beginning of Alabama's frustrations that night in Indianapolis. 

The were numerous notable storylines from the 2021 Crimson Tide, but one of the more interesting ones from a statistical standpoint was how Alabama's two tight ends in the passing game, Billinsgley and Cameron Latu, went in different directions. 

You may remember after the Mississippi State game we did a detailed look at one of Alabama's biggest problems, dropped passes. Alabama had seven at Texas A&M, and a couple more at Mississippi State. The two receiving tight ends caught just one of 13 balls thrown their way during those two road games, with six drops and one of the passes intercepted.

(Note: Dropped passes is an unofficial statistic. Our definition is a ball that hits the hands but is not caught without extenuating circumstances like diving or an off-target throw.)

Here's how Alabama fared over the season as whole:

1. Miami 1
2. Mercer 2
3. Florida 1
4. Southern Miss 1
5. Ole Miss 0
6. Texas A&M 7
7. Mississippi State 2
8. Tennessee 3
9. LSU 1
10. New Mexico State 1
11. Arkansas 2
12. Auburn 3
13. SEC Title Game 1
14. Cotton Bowl 0 
15. National Title Game 1

Despite the three drops at Auburn, Alabama did get better, with Billingsley tied for the team team lead with wide receiver John Metchie III with six drops, and wide receiver Jameson Williams next with five. 

But Metchie had 96 receptions before having a season-ending knee injury, Williams 79 before he did likewise. Both topped 1,000 receiving yards. 

Billingsley had 17 catches for 256 yards and three touchdowns. 

He actually regressed statistically despite becoming a bigger part of the offense, and tallying 18 catches for 287 yards (with three touchdowns) in 2020 — almost all of which came over the final seven games. 

Over the final seven games this past season, Young targeted Latu 21 times and connected with him for 13 receptions and 223 yards, including the 102 against Georgia in the national title game.

He looked to Billingsley 17 times, resulting in just five catches for 70 yards. That's a completion percentage of 29.4 for the Heisman Trophy winner who finished the season at 68 percent.

The miss that had O'Brien so upset was the second time Billingsley was targeted that opening possession, the first being on a busted play due to a Georgia blitz. Young's next ball thrown to Billingsley was really one he was trying to throw away.

In the second half, Young's first pass attempt was to Billingsley, but was picked off as he and the quarterback weren't on the same page again. He never had another ball thrown his way, and has since transferred to be reunited with former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian at Texas.  

Bill O'Brien was heated after Georgia's stop 😳 pic.twitter.com/4U1qqr10Hf

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 11, 2022

Playoff Expansion Takes Hit 

 If you saw Thursday's Just a Minute segment: Playoff Expansion in NFL Doesn't Mean it would be good for College Football, Aransas Associate Dean Stephen Dittmore penned an interesting article AthleticDirectorU called A 12-Team Playoff Probably Won’t Cure College Football’s Challenges.

In it, he takes issue with The Athletic's Chris Vannini claims that the sport needs championship expansion to produce more "competitive, meaningful games," at least judged by viewership metrics and notes challenges with overlapping kicks. 

Dittmore uses the Rose Bowl and Outback Bowl numbers to make his case: "The past four non-semifinal Rose Bowls, presumably between teams that would be in a round-of-12 game, averaged an 8.6 rating, exactly the same number as this year’s semifinal between Alabama and Cincinnati." 

The Outback Bowl's noon kick could end up as a time slot for a CFP round-of-12 matchup: "Once again using data from 2013-2021, we see the Outback Bowl averages a 2.8 rating over eight years. 

"So why is it lower rated than the Rose Bowl? Tradition? Is it the early kickoff? Is it the matchups? Or, is it the fact it does not have an exclusive broadcast window? This year’s game competed head-to-head with the aforementioned Citrus Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl between Oklahoma State and Notre Dame. Perhaps the New Year’s Six bowl games are cannibalizing one another, rather than being devalued by the CFP." 

He concludes that expanding the playoff to 12 teams "has the potential to further devalue the regular season, leading to continued decreases in attendance. It could heighten transfers as players seek to align with 'win now' programs. An increased number of teams, and what conferences, if any, get automatic qualifiers, could lead to further realignment and possibly create 'super conferences.' And, it could increase pressures on coaches to be one of 12 teams in the playoff. Winning records and being doused with Duke’s Mayo may no longer be sufficient to save a coach’s, or an athletic director’s, job."

Speaking of food ... 

5 Things That Got Our Attention This Week

1] Sprinkles not included

Josh Vitale/Advertiser

Troy basketball has been scoring at the gate as the men's basketball team has been drawing 4,500-plus fans, and the women's team set a home attendance record of 2,724 on Saturday.

The Trojans are 16-7, 7-3 in Sun Belt play, but according the newsletter Extra Points with Matt Brown, they might be getting a boost from what it calls the most unhealthy, but delicious, concessions item. 

The donut cheeseburgers go for $10 each. 

"Everybody realizes that more people in the building equals more money for everybody." Troy Executive Association Athletic Director/External Operations Kyle George said. "We did more than three and a half times the revenue we would normally make from concessions at a men's basketball game. Everybody was thrilled."

George said he got the idea when working at Southern Miss and in minor league baseball. 

In general, if there is such a thing, a donut cheeseburger will have anywhere from 800 to 1,500 calories depending on what else is on it. 

2] A tale of two sports at Kentucky

University of Kentucky

Even though the Wildcats are a top-five team, scanned attendance for Kentucky basketball games at Rupp Arena has topped 15,000 only one time this season as a subpar home slate has some fans frustrated. 

"There’s still going to be those moments where we’re going to want to go play in Madison Square Garden or we’re going to want to play in Chicago or Vegas, something like that," Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart told the Courier Journal. "There’s a couple of those games we want to play, but at the end of the day we also have to have enough of those games in balance back in Rupp Arena. … We’ve heard that message and we’re endeavoring to get a little more balance on that schedule. So, we need to do that." 

Meanwhile, per the Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky will be the next SEC East program to add a dedicated indoor practice facility in football. “We’ve got some some folks that have come forward and said they want to help," Barnhart said. "They’ve seen the success of football, and they’ve seen what Mark has done, and that has been the catalyst for them coming forward saying, ‘We’re ready to chip in and make this thing work.’ So we’re working really hard at that.”

3] Georgia to remain status quo in one respect (for now)

Georgia Athletics

Although Georgia is coming off winning its first national championship in more than 40 years, and just built a new football building for roughly $80 million, the school wil keep ticket prices as is for now. 

Athletic director Josh Brooks told DawgNation: "We have no plans to increase home game ticket prices or concession prices for the upcoming season. Our fans were crucial in support of us through the pandemic with so many converting their potential refunds into donations. That allowed us to keep providing our student-athletes a first-class experience."

Nevertheless, Georgia will need to bankroll a new deal for head coach Kirby Smart, who has not renegotiated his contract since 2018 and is making approximately $7 million per year, which is no longer in the top 10 of college football coaches. 

Smart, represented by Jimmy Sexton, is reportedly working on a new deal believed to be worth more than $100 million over 10 years.

4] That's an expensive party

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

As expected, Arkansas was fined $250,000 by the Southeastern Conference for fans rushing the court following last week's basketball win over Auburn. 

Arkansas hadn't beaten a No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 since 1984.

The SEC's penalties for violating the access to competition area policy increase based on number of offenses. It starts at $50,000 for the first offense and maxes out at $250,000 for the third and beyond.

The Razorbacks were fined $100K in September after fans rushed the field following the football victory over Texas. Athletic director Hunter Yurachek called the moment  "priceless," but we have to think he's beginning to feel otherwise. 

Speaking of the Longhorns, they were fined $25,000 and issued a public reprimand by the Big 12 for storming the court the same night for beating Kansas. 

See? It really does mean more in the SEC ... 

5] What's the fine for this?

Matt Jones@KySportsRadio via Twitter

In that same celebration at Arkansas, basketball coach Eric Musselman went shirtless, even though his left arm was in a sling after having shoulder surgery. 

That seems like a good place to end this ... 

We Don't Know What to Think About Auburn Either

The latest as of Thursday night: Sources told Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger and Richard Johnson that football coach Bryan Harsin’s representatives have resisted attempts by Auburn officials at settling for a price lower than the coach’s full buyout, about $18 million. This has forced Auburn into a corner: either fire the coach for cause, hoping evidence for such is strong enough; pay the full buyout; or retain him.

“That’s where the fight is,” an Auburn source tells SI. “From the moment [Harsin] got hired, it seems like people on the outside looking in, those people wanted to go in a different direction.”

Auburn has lost 18 players to transfer and five assistant coaches since the end of Harsin’s first season leading the team, resulting in a 6-7 finish.

Spring football set to start a month from this Monday. 

Tide-Bits 

• Prop bets are always the rage of the Super Bowl as there are thousands of ways to wager on the game. This year it includes the over/under the length of the National Anthem, to the color of Snoop Dogg’s shoes when he first appears. One bet on SportsBetting.ag that stood out to us was "What name will be said first?"

• Joe Montana -110
• Joe Namath -110
• Joe Theismann +500

• Former Crimson Tide running back and NFL MVP Shaun Alexander told FanNation that "I'm going with my heart" and picking the Bengals to win the Super Bowl (see video). When asked which running backs in the league have that "it" factor, Alexander admitted that he was biased due to attending Alabama before before answering Derrick Henry. "I think Najee Harris will become one of the best running backs in the league."

• When making an appearance on The Next Round, Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne said the reaction this week to the planned $183 million arena for basketball and gymnastics has been extremely favorable. “I’d like to put a shovel in the ground tomorrow if we could,” Byrne said. However, the final decisions on costs and site must be determined by the board of trustees. Also, an architect will need about a year of design work, to be followed by an 18-month construction schedule.

• Byrne also commented on the Tuscaloosa City Council recently approving a measure allowing alcohol sales at on-campus venues. “I anticipate it happening this [basketball] season. Be on the lookout.”

Did You Notice?

• Bracket Watch: Kansas Makes a Move, Duke Squanders an Opportunity

• Auburn Adds University Policy for Investigations Amid Bryan Harsin Rumors

• How Can the Overflowing Transfer Portal Be Fixed?

• NCPA Takes Next Step Toward College Athletes Being Classified As Employees

Bonus: Emma Talley's Testimony of Hope

This week, former Alabama golfer and current LPGA professional, Emma Talley, made public her testimony hope. We include it here as a lot of it will resonate with Alabama fans and Tuscaloosa residents: 

Tornadoes really have two sides.

On the one hand, they mean destruction for anything in their path. Life-changing, heartbreaking destruction.

But on the other hand, be just outside of their reach, and your life doesn't change at all. It becomes one scary day.

Tornadoes have become a source of destruction to some of the places I love most.

The life-changing, heartbreaking kind of destruction.

My own neighborhood being one of them.

Home, sweet home

I'm from the small town of Princeton, Kentucky, and lived on the 16th hole of the Princeton Golf and Country Club. Needless to say, that course – my home course, is where I first fell in love with golf.

I was just nine years old when I remember having that feeling. In every other sport, it was about the team. But as selfish as this may sound, golf was about me. It was either my fault or my accomplishment. I could feel all the blame and all the praise.

I was in control of my destiny with golf. And I always knew I wanted to aim my destiny in the direction of the pros.

The Princeton Golf and Country Club was where everything started for me.

And this place, the one that first nurtured and supported me...

Destroyed!

On December 13, 2021.

In a matter of minutes.

Roll Tide, Roll

Princeton is probably the most important place to me — Tuscaloosa is a close second.

Coming out of high school, I was the nation's #1 recruit.

But I wanted to make sure I visited schools at every level — smaller ones close to home and bigger ones far away from home.

I visited way too many schools looking back on it. Like, more than 15 in total. But what I remember most was when Mic Potter started recruiting me in 7th grade.

Mic is a legend and Susan Rosenstiel is incredible. By the time I needed to make a commitment decision, they felt like family. And they both promised me they would be there for all four years.

When I heard them say that, I was sold.

Truth: I was sold when Nick Saban approached me on a visit and said, "Are you gonna commit or not because we build champions here?"

The transition to Alabama was a bit of a struggle.

At the time, I had never really been away from home.

There is no way you can prepare for the sheer amount of work it takes to be a student-athlete. But by the time Christmas break hit during my freshman year in 2012, I didn't even want to go back home.

I fell in love with Alabama.

I felt surrounded by success. It truly felt like an environment that breeds champions.

The tornado in Tuscaloosa

The year before I got to Alabama, Tuscaloosa was hit by a massive tornado.

I remember seeing all the damage on TV.

I remember checking in with the girls to make sure they were okay.

I remember one of my friends and her boyfriend having to shelter in the bathtub — and that bathroom being the only thing left standing after the tornado came through their area.

What I remember most is how long it has taken to get everything cleaned up. It still seemed fresh when I got there, the damage.

Through the years, I've been able to watch this community rebuild itself.

I've been able to watch people get their lives back.

But I've also seen people who haven't. People who are still rebuilding. And I’ve heard too many stories that still cite the tornado as the cause of so many problems in their lives.

Realizing reality

On neither occasion was I physically at the tornado site. I hadn't gotten to Alabama yet, and when it hit my neighborhood, I was visiting New Zealand with my boyfriend.

It's hard to believe the damage of a tornado until you see it with your own eyes. When my sister called me to tell me about the tornado coming through Princeton, then to where she lived in Bowling Green, I was really worried, obviously.

And when my parents called me the next morning to tell me about everything that was destroyed, I was absolutely devastated.

You have this perception of what that “damage” might look like. But when I went back to Princeton to see it for myself, it was a whole different experience.

And to be honest, I can't even explain to you what it looks like.

What I can tell you is that so much beauty is gone – the back of the golf course, beautiful homes filled with character, local staples filled with history.

It's hard to have the mentality that it's just stuff when it's your home, your place of comfort.

One of my friend's houses was completely destroyed. Right down to the foundation along with the camper in their garage. He and his family walked out unscathed but found out two of his aunts had passed away in the neighboring town.

No one can ever imagine what going through a tornado would be like.

I wasn't home when it hit in Kentucky, and I wasn't in Tuscaloosa either.

I can't possibly understand the feelings my friend has, dealing with that much tragedy in such a brief amount of time. But one thing I do understand is that tornadoes aren't just a one-day event.

These are the things that change the course of people's lives in a matter of seconds.

Restoring hope

You can't stop these things from happening. You can't control a tornado.

But I can make a conscious effort to do good with the platform I've created for myself.

As a junior at Alabama, I won the NCAA Championships which really confirmed where I thought I was in my golf career.

I finished college and then joined the Symetra Tour after I graduated in 2016.

I spent a year and a half on the Symetra Tour before earning my LPGA Tour card at the end of the 2017 season. Since then, I've been playing on the LPGA Tour.

I'm so thankful every day that I get to play the game I love. But I'm most thankful that what I can do can be used to help the communities I care so much about.

I started a GoFundMe with my hometown bank. In the first week, we raised around $150,000 that will go to the Chamber of Commerce and be used to help people whose insurance didn't cover all the damage, people whose insurance isn't helping at all, and people who don't have a way of transportation anymore.

As terrible as tornadoes are, through them, I've seen the humanity in people. The desire for people to do good and see good in others.

I've come to believe that everyone wants to help and that everyone has a good heart if you let them show you.

My mom always told me growing up, "Be good. Be kind. Be smart. Make a difference today." I want to use the platform the LPGA has given me, the willingness I have, and the power that social media offers to help put my community back on its feet.

It will be a long road for so many people.

The least I can do is use my brand to help the community that has always helped me.

The least I can do is give them hope.

Christopher Walsh's notes column All Things CW appears every week on BamaCentral.