No matter what the College Football Playoff committee thinks, Alabama is in on Mac Jones and it believes the sophomore quarterback is about to shock the world.
National media is not giving the Crimson Tide much of a chance to beat Auburn, let alone get to the CFP or win a national championship.
Alabama lost its starting quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa for the season, due to a dislocated right hip against Mississippi State. The injury occurred late in the second quarter – prior to halftime – as the Tide held a 35-7 lead over the Bulldogs.
His surgery went well and he is in good spirits; however, the masses don’t believe Alabama can win without Tagovailoa.
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As a native of Jacksonville, Fla., Jones proved in the game versus Arkansas that he can run the offense.
He completed 18 of 22 passes for 235 yards with three touchdowns in a 48-7 victory over the Razorbacks on homecoming. When Tagovailoa went down, Jones came in and completed seven of 11 attempts for 94 yards against Miss. State.
Even with its leader out, the Tide remains highly confident.
He spent time discussing how much Tagovailoa means to him and the team, but Nick Saban quickly mentioned how the offense does not change with Jones.
“Mac played in the Arkansas game,” Saban said. “He did a nice job; I think he went 18 for 22 or whatever and he’s smart. He understands the offense. He has made a lot of improvements throughout the course of the year. We have a lot of confidence in Mac. Sark has done a really good job of helping him develop throughout the year. We are not changing what we do. Mac is a very capable guy. We have a lot of confidence in what he can do and what he will do for us.”
The trio of Shyheim Carter, Jared Mayden and DeVonta Smith all followed behind their head coach, in saying Jones is ‘ready’ for this moment. While Carter said he has all the confidence in the world in Jones, Smith went deeper with his reasoning of why Alabama is not panicking.
“Mac approaches every week the same, no matter what’s going on,” Smith said.
“I feel like Mac’s ready and everyone feels like he is ready. It does not matter if Tua is playing or not, Mac prepares throughout the week in practice. I feel like Mac Jones is always ready. He is always having fun and you have to have fun in what you are doing. He understands that, but he also knows when to have fun and when to be serious.”
The most interesting think Smith said was he doesn’t consider much of a drop from Tagovailoa to Jones.
In terms of football intelligence from a quarterback standpoint, he looks at Jones being on the same part with the native Hawaiian.
“We know Mac capable of doing what we need him to do,” Smith said. “He has always had the attitude of wanting to take ownership of the offense.”
Tagovailoa is known more for extending plays and though Jones prefers to stand in the pocket, Smith said the former four-star can move as well. In the event of people doubting the Tide because Tagovailoa is out, Smith said he looks at Jones the same way he viewed Tagovailoa.
Mayden, senior at safety, described Jones in one word: charisma
“I have seen Mac Jones grow since he’s been here,” Mayden said.
“He’s developing and I really have the utmost confidence in him. The team has the utmost confidence in Mac Jones and I tell him all the time ‘I believe in you, when It’s your time you will shine.’ Whatever the team needs from Mac Jones, he is going to go out there and do it. Just from the mindset and determination that he brings in the locker room, in meetings, even when he is on the field. There are not too many people that will go back and forth with Coach Saban, but I remember the first time I saw him do it. It was his freshman year on the scout team. He was throwing bombs to Tyrell Shavers and Coach Saban was telling him to stop throwing it to him all the time. He was like ‘well, tell your defense to stop it’ and for a quarterback to have that type of charisma about himself, I will be behind him all the time.”
He is referred to as “The Joker” for a reason.
Jones strikes when one least expects him to and he carries a supreme confidence within himself, which makes Alabama more dangerous.
He has tossed for 566 yards with four scores to one interception through nine games.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder will lead the Tide against Western Carolina this weekend and then a showdown with Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
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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.
