Among half a dozen Alabama football seniors who could land an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, none have impressed Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy more than wide receiver Jermaine Burton.

He's still got a ways to go in evaluating the Crimson Tide's candidates for the annual all-star game (more on that in a minute), but he's seen enough of Burton, who transferred to Alabama from Georgia, to know he's an exciting prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft.

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"Burton's helped himself the most. Going back to Georgia, you saw the speed as a young guy. Now, he's a really well-rounded receiver who can get open at all three levels," Nagy said. "He's a good route-runner. I think he's shown more toughness this year in terms of making plays working into traffic, and what sticks out skills-wise is that he has great hands, and is a phenomenal ball tracker. He can find it down the field, and shows really good concentration."

Burton's 777 receiving yards lead all Alabama receivers, as do his eight touchdowns, and he's averaged a whopping 22.2 yards per catch. He's become a favorite downfield target for quarterback Jalen Milroe, who's been successful targeting the senior on deep sideline routes against man coverage. Another factor in Burton's draft profile that scouts will like: a hand measurement of 10-plus inches, which is well above average.

Seniors Malachi Moore, Chris Braswell and Will Reichard are Alabama's other top candidates for the Senior Bowl, while Jase McClellan and Justin Eboigbe are possibilities as well. But with the recent news that underclassmen can now participate in all-star games, Nagy suddenly has a much deeper field from which to pull his two 55-man rosters. He hasn't fully evaluated Alabama's top underclassmen, including OT J.C. Latham, LB Dallas Turner, CB Kool-Aid McKinstry and CB Terrion Arnold.

"It's a game-changer for the Senior Bowl. The bulk of the top 100 picks are juniors," Nagy added. "This opens us up to a bigger pool of top-level talent."

Kelly on the CFP decision

LSU coach Brian Kelly has the unique perspective of having played both FSU and Alabama this season, the two teams that vied for the final available spot in the College Football Playoff. Kelly said he was understanding of the CFP selection committee's decision to take the Crimson Tide (12-1) over the undefeated Seminoles, due to an injury to FSU QB Jordan Travis.

“From my perspective, unfortunately, Florida State was not the same team earlier in the year than they were later in the year because of the injury to the quarterback," Kelly said.

Help in the paint

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats has been lamenting his team's defensive struggles through a 6-2 start to the season, and it's clear that minutes are available for players that can create stops as much as points. One can only assume that's a good sign for Mouhamed Dioubate after the freshman forward recorded a team-high three blocked shots in seven minutes of play in an 89-65 home win over Arkansas State on Monday. Next up for Dioubate and Alabama: a neutral site game against Purdue in Toronto on Saturday (12:30 p.m. CT, FOX).

Around the SEC

Here's guessing that the leak of Alabama coach Nick Saban's phone number last weekend, which resulted in hundreds of calls, many of them from angered FSU fans in the wake of the CFP selections, came with the worst of timing. After all, you'd better believe Saban had his number changed immediately, and National Signing Day is right around the corner. There's no telling how many recruits and relatives of recruits had to be provided the new digits. ... The SEC players who've entered the NCAA transfer portal who'll be most hotly pursued: Arkansas RB Rocket Sanders, South Carolina WR Juice Wells, Texas A&M OL Chase Bisontis, Vanderbilt WR Will Sheppard, Texas A&M DL Walter Nolen, and Florida LB Princely Umanmielen. There are more to come but that group will have no shortage of offers. ... Former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason has been hired to replace Rick Stockstill as coach at Middle Tennessee State.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23 and the Talkin' Tide podcast. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: The Alabama player who caught Senior Bowl's eye, Around the SEC & more