Crimson Tide Roll Call: Jan. 30, 2021

Today is … National Inspire Your Heart With Art Day (we don't know who this Art guy is, but we hear good things) ...
BamaCentral Headlines
• Despite Having Nothing to Prove, Alabama QB Mac Jones Thrives in Senior Bowl Practices
• All Things Bama Podcast: Bryan Passink Discusses Alabama Hoops' Rise, Previews Oklahoma
• Recruiting Corner: 2021 National Signing Day Preview
• Blanco Shines for No. 8 Alabama Gymnastics in 196.775-196.400 Win over No. 14 Kentucky
• Alabama Baseball Conducts First Spring Practice of 2021
• Alabama Coaching Tracker: Karl Scott Being Targeted; Robert Gillespie Officially Joins Crimson Tide Staff
• Juwan Gary Providing Toughness and Energy Off the Bench for Alabama Basketball
• Nate Oats Gives Update on "Banged Up" Alabama Basketball
Today’s Crimson Tide Schedule
• Men's basketball at Oklahoma, SEC/Big 12 Challenge, 11 a.m. CT, ESPN, Live Video, Live Audio, Live Stats
• Women's tennis vs. Kennesaw State, noon, Video Stream and Live Scoring
• Senior Bowl, 1:30 p.m., NFL Network
• Volleyball vs South Carolina, 2 p.m., Live Video, Live Stats
Crimson Tide Results
• Volleyball: South Carolina def. Alabama 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22. Abby Marjama and Kendyl Reaugh led the Crimson Tide offense with 18 and 16 kills, respectively, both of which were season highs. Reaugh also added 11 digs for her first career double-double. Riley Fisbeck paced the offense with 36 assists and contributed to the front row defense with a pair of solo blocks and a block assist. Alyiah Wells led the defense with a season-best six blocks while Madelyn St. Germain had 12 digs. "The light bulb is going on for our players in understanding the small details when it comes to blocking,” Crimson Tide coach Lindsey Devine said in a release after the spring opener.
• Men's tennis: Alabama 4, Tulane 3; Alabama 6, Chattanooga 1. Edson Ortiz had the key win at No. 3 singles in the opener by taking the tiebreaker in the second set, and won the final set 6-4. “Today reminded me a lot of our men’s basketball game earlier this week," Crimson Tide coach George Husack said in a statement. "Their shots were not finding the bottom of the net as they have been this season and they were forced to grind out a gutty win over Kentucky.
• Gymnastics: Alabama 196.775, Kentucky 196.400
Did You Notice?
• Mac Jones was named top quarterback on the American team in a vote from the secondary group at the practice player-of-the-week awards ceremony at the Senior Bowl. The former Alabama quarterback is expected to play in Saturday's game along with offensive linemen Deonte Brown and Alex Leatherwood and long-snapper Thomas Fletcher.
#Alabama QB Mac Jones at the Senior Bowl on Alex Mortensen, Bama: “That’s a guy who’s helped me a lot, believed in me since I stepped on campus at Alabama. No one talks about Alex, but he probably knows more football — offense, defense — than anybody, and he’s taught me a lot...”
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) January 30, 2021
Mac Jones continued: “Probably close to as much as anybody’s taught me about football. So hopefully he’ll get a shot in the coaching realm. Good things will happen for him because he’s a smart guy." Alex Mortensen is son of @mortreport.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) January 30, 2021
• One of the two matches women's tennis was scheduled to play Saturday, against Alabama A&M, was cancelled.
• Collin Sexton had 17 points and five assists for the Cavaliers in a 102-81 loss to the Knicks.
Drummond to Sexton to Nance ... OH MY!
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 30, 2021
📺 #CavsKnicks on @FOXSportsCLE pic.twitter.com/rs23DjTM2W
• Robbie Shelton had the low score of the day with a second-round 64 at the PGA Farmer's Insurance Open. He's tied for eighth, but is only two strokes off the lead.
Started: T107
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 29, 2021
Currently: T8
The low round of the day belongs to @Robby_Shelton. pic.twitter.com/wV1ARe2KQN
• Here's how former Alabama catcher Alex Avila ended up signing with the Nationals:
Alex Avila's deal with the Nationals is worth $1.5 million. The team got strong feedback from Max Scherzer, Avila's former teammate in Detroit, as the talks progressed.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 29, 2021
• Legendary Crimson Tide/Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday. The Class of 2021 consists of:
- Derrick Thomas, Chiefs linebacker
- Dayton Moore, Royals GM
- Edwin Evers, Angler
- Mark Lamping, Former President of the St. Louis Cardinals
- John Roderique, Webb City football coach
- Bobby Allison, Springfield philanthropist
- Dennis Heim, Monett & Missouri State football standout
- Jim Middleton, Basketball coach
- Alex Hall, Kickapoo & Drury basketball standout
- Jim Whytlaw, Swim coach
- Missouri State Sugar Bears
- Dan Boever, Golf Long Driver & Entertainer
- Pat Colon, Southeast Missouri State basketball standout
- Poplar Bluff High School Boys Golf Program
- Paul Evans, Missouri State pitching coach
- The Mizzou Football Chain Crew
- Tom Mast, Sports Media
- Warrensburg High School Country Programs
- Ron Clawson, Warrensburg coach
- Bryan Blitz, University of Missouri soccer coach
- Cookie Rice of Ozarks Coca-Cola/Pepper – the President’s Award
On This Date in Crimson Tide History:
January 30, 1961: Howard Schnellenberger was hired as end coach, one of two vacancies filled over the week by Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, the other being Elwood Kettler. The two new coaches replaced Jerry Claiborne, the new head coach at Virginia Tech, and Bob Ford, the new defensive line coach at Georgia.
Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:
"My emotions are going to be controlled by the game ... I don't think I'm going to be nostalgic." – Howard Schnellenberger
We’ll leave you with this …
Most College Football Wins over Top 25 Ranked Opponents in Past 10 Years per @247Sports
— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) January 29, 2021
1. Alabama, 53
2. LSU, 37
3. Ohio State, 36
4. Oklahoma, 33
5. Clemson, 31
6. Georgia, 27
Stanford, 27
8. Oklahoma State, 25
9. Oregon, 24
10. Auburn, 22

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.
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