He did not put a defender to the ground with his athleticism in Alabama’s win over the Citadel, but wide receiver Jerry Jeudy did accomplish a huge milestone with his performance.
The sophomore entered this week as the Crimson Tide’s leader in receptions (45), receiving yards (925) and touchdowns (10), before going into the matchup.
It was Henry Ruggs III that led the program in yards (114) versus the Bulldogs and freshman Jaylen Waddle recorded two touchdowns; however, Jeudy’s 77 yards receiving on six catches put him in an elite class.
Former Tide stars Julio Jones, Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley all were 1,000-yard weapons at the University of Alabama. While the latter two hit the magic mark as freshmen, Jones captured his marquee season as a junior – turning in 1,133 yards and seven scores in 2010.
For the third Florida native in this conversation, Jeudy’s output makes him the fourth target of the Nick Saban era to total 1,000 yards as he stands at 1,002.
Three of his receptions went for first downs, with his longest grab being 22 yards. Despite losing the ball on a fumble, Jeudy’s hands and footwork led to multiple scoring drives in the Tide’s 50-17 rout of the Bulldogs.
After his showing, the former five-star now moves to sixth all-time in school history for receiving yards in a season.
He’s surpassed the freshmen outputs of Cooper (2012) and Jones (2008) while also besting Ridley’s mark of 967 in 2017 and David Palmer’s 1,000 yards in 1993.
Jeudy is 55 yards shy from passing D.J. Hall (1,056) for third all-time.
Alabama will end its regular season at home versus Auburn next week in the Iron Bowl.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
