"i didn't care that you left and abandoned me. what hurts more is i would still die for you."


now, we are still a long way away from this, but not as long as we once were. that makes sense, right?

whatforeart do i speak of?

i speak of the meta-narrative that will hover above and through the 2010 college football season seen through my eyes. i speak of the impending departure of the supernova that is and forever will be julio jones from the university of alabama. that is what.

some of my favorite columns of any news cycle of any part of the year are the kind that started popping up yesterday afternoon. immediately after one nfl draft is in the books, the so-called draft "experts" move on from one group of no-longer prospects to the next year's class, ready to dissect their speed and skill-sets and destroy whatever favorable reputation (gained on the field, mind you) those prospects may have. there will be those that perform more than admirably on the highest level and keep their overrated teams in games that they shouldn't be in for the course of an entire season (cough, jimmy clausen, cough) that will drop like a rock on draft day(s) because the "experts" continue to call into question his "attitude". there will be those players that no one has ever heard of that rocket up draft boards because they can bench press 225 pounds five hundred and forty-six times in thirty seconds. the "experts" will like this prospect's "motor" and that prospect's "upside/potential". there will be next years version of legarrette blount, a black player with a "questionable" upbringing that punches some cocky/fratty white boy in the face, misses the season, goes undrafted and will make the pro bowl three years later (by the way, you can book that. i would take legarrette blount. today. and start him. he's a beast...in a manner of speaking.).

and then there are those prospects that, barring catastrophic injury, are can't miss. critic proof. "expert" proof. the kind of prospects that "experts" can try to pick apart their numbers but what you see on film tells you all you need to know (see: avatar. you may think the story's been done before, but avatar has never been done before. can't miss. critic proof. biggest movie ever.). prospects that will reside in the top 15 of the "2011 Mock Draft" columns from now until the 2011 NFL Draft comes and goes. it just so happens that, according to si.com, alabama has THREE of those guys. marcell dareus, mark ingram and, of course, julio.

i can't stand the thought of julio (or ingram or dareus or possibly mark barron) leaving, but i will understand when they do. with each game that is played (and won), we will be one game closer to that news conference where julio and saban stand shoulder to shoulder, acknowledging the inevitable has come to pass. it's tough to think about.

mark ingram will be remembered longer, but julio will always be my favorite alabama player of all time. we're still a long way away from him leaving, but not as long as we once were.

that makes sense, right?