Will a summer fishing trip with an Athens business man affect the eligibility of Alabama players Julio Jones and Mark Ingram, perhaps two of Nick Saban’s most important offensive weapons? It could very well.

While Saban has decided not to punish his two stars, he acknowledged the NCAA has yet to rule and their decision could be different from his, meaning there’s a chance neither player could see the field against Virginia Tech on Saturday. The issue surrounding the suspect fishing trip has to do with whether or not the person who paid for the trip, Curtis Anderson, is a booster for the University of Alabama.

An internal investigation performed by the university found Anderson is not part of the Crimson Tide’s booster program, although, the NCAA has yet to agree with these findings. If the NCAA finds differently, there’s a very real chance both players could miss Bama’s massive season opener against Frank Beamer and the gang from Blacksburg, VA.

If that happens, I expect those riding Tech’s growing bandwagon — or backlashing against the SEC — would probably explode with excitement.

However, when you consider the potential strength of Alabama’s defense — even without Brandon Deaderick — if Nick Saban loses his two best offensive players, there’s little doubt he’ll try to turn the game into a smash mouth affair, which means you’ll see a lot of Roy Upchurch and Terry Grant. And then there’s freshman stud Trent Richardson, a five-star recruit who was considered one of the best running backs in the country while in high school. Basically, if either are ruled ineligible, only the passing game would suffer.

Of course, considering the type of universe master Saban has become, the fates of Jones and Ingram will probably not be affected by their summer fishing excursion.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Frank Beamer, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Virginia Tech Hokies

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