One of the best linebackers in college football, the top defensive tackles and the consensus best safety available are all still on the board heading into the second day of the NFL draft.

Saban and Alabama opened spring practice Friday, March 19, 2021l with an immediate goal. For now, they need to find replacements for three of college football's top offensive weapons. Patterson, File)Nick Saban and Alabama opened spring practice Friday with an immediate goal. He also didn't get a spring practice last year because of the pandemic. The Crimson Tide holds its spring game on April 17 and opens the regular season against Miami on Sept. 4 in Atlanta.

National champion Alabama has five players leaving early after beating Ohio State in the CFP title game on Jan. 11, with All-America quarterback Jones and linebacker Dylan Moses both early graduates. The 30 players with college eligibility remaining after completing their degree requirements had to notify the NFL of their intentions for the draft. Players less than four years removed from high school who have not completed a degree need to be granted special entry to the draft by the NFL. Southern California has the most players leaving early for NFL draft eligibility with six. Stanford and Ohio State matched Alabama with five each.

Probably go pick up some food," Notre Dame offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg said. 4 Notre Dame had to go a combined 37-2 on the field and keep the virus at bay. Alabama faces Notre Dame in the relocated Rose Bowl at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. Notre Dame and Ohio State were more cautious, keeping their players on campus over the recent holiday weekend. Notre Dame had a virus outbreak pause its season for about two weeks in late September.

Lawrence, the likely first pick in the next NFL draft, made AP All-America for the first time in his career. ___The 2020 AP All-America team:FIRST TEAMOffenseQuarterback — Mac Jones, junior, Alabama. Running backs — Najee Harris, senior, Alabama; Breece Hall, sophomore, Iowa State. Guards — Ben Cleveland, senior, Georgia; Tommy Kraemer, senior, Notre Dame. Safeties — Kyle Hamilton, sophomore, Notre Dame; Tykee Smith, sophomore, West Virginia.

2 Alabama beat Ole Miss 63-48 on Saturday night in the highest-scoring Southeastern Conference regulation game ever. Matt Corral passed for 365 yards for Ole Miss (1-2) and the Rebels put up 647 yards on the Tide. Obviously, we didn’t play well on defense.”After another Ole Miss field goal, Alabama recovered an onside kick and Harris busted a 39-yard touchdown run moments later to seal it. Ole Miss: The offensive unit is impressive. Ole Miss: The Rebels visit Arkansas on Saturday.

3 Crimson Tide received that programs equivalent of a humbling last season, if an 11-2 record can qualify as such. Alabama failed to make the College Football Playoffs for the first time thanks largely to a 48-45, regular season-ending loss to rival Auburn. Making matters worse, that followed a 2018 season that ended with national championship game thrashing at the hands of Clemson. Speculation abounded that highly recruited freshman Bryce Young might push Jones for the starting job before COVID-19 canceled spring practice. Harris emerged as Alabamas latest star runner last season, gaining 1,224 yards and scoring 20 combined touchdowns rushing and receiving.