Battle Royals
Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals may have intrigued a few people at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
The conclusion of Senior Bowl week was rather quiet for Jalen Royals.
»The Utah State senior wideout found himself cheering for his American teammates on the sidelines of Hancock Whitney Stadium.
As the third quarter melted into the fourth and shade crept over the field in Mobile, Alabama on Saturday February 1, Jalen Royals still didn’t have a catch to his name.
It was a tough day for guys named Jalen on the American team; Milroe of the Alabama variety was 3-of-5 for 21 yards passing and was sacked three times. He was replaced by Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan — who was eventually re-replaced by Milroe.
Confused? We all were at times while watching this game. On fourth down in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, Milroe ran for no gain instead of spotting Royals, who was open a yard beyond the first down marker. That miscue gave the ball back to the National team that led 19-16. With 2:32 to play, however, the American team forced a turnover on downs. A deep shot from Henigan to somebody not named Royals kept the drive alive on third and long, moving the ball a tad shy of the 50-yard line. Eventually, Royals’ American team cashed in from the 2 on a pass from Henigan to TCU WR Jack Bech, who lost his brother Tiger in the New Orleans terror attack last month.
Probable Cause» In the third quarter, Henigan threw what was referred to earlier in the broadcast by analyst Charles Davis as a “75-25 ball”—a conversation he’d had with Bech, pre-game.
“That was a well thrown ball, DJ,” said Davis of this toss that sailed past the fingertips of Royals.
Tell that to a guy who perpetrated Memphis-on-USU crime at the 2022 Servpro First Responders Bowl, throwing for 394 yards in that Tigers win. Royals wasn’t at Utah State — yet. Who’s to say there wasn’t a little extra on that pass by Henigan?
Flashback» In the second quarter, before that moon ball by Henigan that flew out of bounds, Milroe himself gave Royals a chance on a floater that was ruled a lateral. It almost cost the Aggie receiver the game itself. It was overthrown, resulting in Royals getting leveled by a National linebacker.
Moments like the ones outlined made you wonder why the American QBs didnt want to throw to Royals. Were they aware he was a state champion sprinter in high school?!
Cause For Hope » When it came time for Royals to do his thing at the Senior Bowl practices, understand he was one bad mutha, so bad that one podcaster obviously not 'from' Utah was taken aback by Royals' performance. "I hadda rush home n' [and] find out as much as I could about 'da guy," he said.
A ‘Fantasy League Champion’ according to a banner splayed across his Zoom room, John Laub in a Michigan hoody was perplexed by Royals, a transfer out of Georgia Military, who steamrolled several defenders during 1-on-1 drills. "We tend to not think highly of G5 talent, for good reason," opined his much shorter sidekick.
Coming in at 6-foot-even and 205, Royals may have slid under the radar after only 834 yards receiving and six touchdowns, down significantly from his 1,304 yard-15 TD junior year in 2023.
In a world known for seldom hurtling superlatives in the past, the league’s coaches are now changing their tune. “That was a good ball,” said one coach describing a throw to Royals. What about the catch? Wasn’t that equally commendable? Is that why guys like royals get overlooked in the first place? All I know is Royals let his play do all the talking this week in team practices. He didn’t have a single decal on his helmet when some guys peppered theirs with dozens.
Final Score » Jack Bech was named the offensive MVP of the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
But Royals was the first to congratulate Bech following the announcement. It provided us with a moment that’s bigger than football, and showed it didn’t matter how Royals’ stats Saturday paled in comparison to how he competed all week. For Royals, who’s already getting a 3rd-to-4th round draft grade and left the Reese’s Senior Bowl without a catch, it’s hard to know what happens next.
We only know something will. «
Boom Collier
RUMORS » Let us be clear about Isaiah Collier, Utah Jazz rookie guard.
He hadn’t been heard from much, at least from a December he’ll hardly remember but oh, me, oh my did Boo have a January. the Jazz rookie out of USC, colloquially known as Boo has been booming for a Utah team that is probably looking to give him more minutes going forward since they’re likely to be moving at least one guard before this Thursday’s trade deadline.
The thing about Collier though is that he’s been up and down all season, airballing layups because he doesn’t know that with his blazing speed, he doesn’t have to take a Euro step. [Whether or not that’s a fault of Jazz coaches is up for debate.] It seems like every time Collier’s been assigned to the Jazz G-League SLC Stars he’s balled out, necessitating an almost immediate return to the Jazz because some guard gets hurt.
Though Keyonte George has been getting most of the run in his second season, he’s been a DNP for 11 of the Jazz 48 games. When that happens, Collier has, for the most part, been a durable, possibly sturdier version based on his quicks and buckets: 11 points over his last five games in 39 total games played for the Jazz. When Collier goes to the hoop he’s a straight-up blur and anybody who says different don’t know ball.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Jazz actually do with Boo, if anything at all, since he is also notching nine assists over his last five games, heading into what will now be a tough stretch featuring games against, in this order, the Warriors tonight at the Delta Center followed by three weekend roadies at the Suns on Friday, the Clippers on Saturday and a meeting at the Lakers, who may even have at its disposal their new acquisition Luka Doncic, on Monday. «
Overthink This Photo 📸
I think it would’ve been fairly easy for Utah Jazz fans to feel anxious about the arrivals of Joe Ingles, Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert in the capital city this past Thursday. After all the trio did for the Jazz, leading them to their last heyday—which hasn’t been that long ago honestly—only a fool would be well within their right to show their disapproval of the trio. Instead, Utah showed its appreciation giving them a standing ovation, one heck of a way to send off Jingling Joe in what could be his last time here, along with applause for Mountain Mike and the Stifle Tower himself, Gobert. «
BoOk Em, BrIaN! » Belichick!
» Bill Belichick is known as a bit of an odd duck. But, he’s the NFL’s problem—or was. Now he’s the University of North Carolina’s problem, a departure for a guy who had his first NFL coaching job at age 23 and was already figuring out how to game the system, as notated in this memorable paragraph from the book, albeit for a different sport:
One day, Belichick asked [Wesleyan football teammate] McVicar to let him take his stick home for the night. “And he restrung my stick so the ball would stay in there better,” McVicar recalled. “He taught me how to make my lacrosse stick illegal and then fix it before the ref could catch you. He strung it loose, the depth of the pocket. In those days, the depth could be no deeper than the ball. He made it extra deep. If someone on the other team said I had an illegal stick, Bill showed me how to pull a string to tighten it up and then hand it to the ref.”
Sometimes brilliant, altogether awkward, Belichick is depicted in this book as an intensely private, hippie savant who made many missteps including hiring female go-go dancers in Cleveland before a 1994 playoff run, then a collapse and the team’s move to Baltimore, his firing on Valentine’s Day ‘96 and hiring by the then-beleaguered New England Patriots. Somewhere along the way, he became one of the greatest football coaches of all time. «
#WhatAreWeDOING Playoffs [Most-voted candidate advances to next round; two candidates per week]
» #1 Candidate: This week is special. We rarely have so many quality candidates. But Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who is now being accused of “lewd behavior” by at least 10 massage therapists might put DeShawn Watson to shame:
» #2 Candidate: A Texas man used his 3-month old baby to clean off the windshield of his Hyundai recently, and thought it was so cool he put it on his TikTok:
Advancing to the #whatarewedoing playoff second round thus far:
Frat pledge set on fire
Player pushes his coach
Ohio State coach wrecks golf cart
Thanks for reading; be safe and be well. I’ll see ya next time. «