Should he deliver the University of Alabama to a national championship in college football, Mac Jones would have a nice list of people to thank — including his girlfriend and a certain snack she enjoys making for him.
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When he is not taking down chocolate chip cookies and adding healthy weight to his frame, Jones is in the film room and on the practice field bonding with teammates and pushing players toward the ultimate goal. On Tuesday, he was featured on the Zach Gelb Show via CBS Sports Radio. Nick Saban has yet to announce the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide, but the redshirt junior is expected to be the one.
After years of toiling with the scout-team in practice, Jones replaced an injured Tua Tagovailoa last season and showed everyone he can run the offense. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., he totaled a pair of 40-point games while tossing for 10 scores to two interceptions against Arkansas, Auburn and Michigan (Citrus Bowl).
As he enters his fourth year, Jones is excited to play behind Alex Leatherwood, Deonte Brown, Evan Neal, Landon Dickerson and Chris Owens on the offensive line.
Along with the veteran group, he is overjoyed to have Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle back as well. Last year was interesting, but Jones said the team has adjusted well.
“I think, looking back on it, there’s a bunch of teachable moments for everybody,” Jones said on the Zach Gelb Show. “We kind of moved forward to this season, but there are still learning moments on the field and from a leadership standpoint, it is how we can improve. I think we have done a great job, our leadership has done a great job of adjusting and fixing what needs to be fixed.”
It failed to win a national championship in each of the last two years, but Jones is looking forward to getting Alabama back to the stage and finishing the job. Despite the Coronavirus pandemic making things a little difficult, he was still able to put in quality training in the offseason. Jones said he worked out in full pads back home and added 13 pounds of ‘good weight.’
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“This offseason was different, but I was training with quarterback coaches and working on every day things,” he said. “I was getting real reps back home. I was not just throwing in my shorts. I just wanted to make sure I was ready to go whenever the time is going to come. I feel more confident with the weight I have gained. I am able to take bigger hits.”
Now at 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds, Jones looks a big time quarterback in college football.
In terms of the quarterback room, he said Bryce Young has come in learning the playbook and Paul Tyson has ‘improved a lot’ since working with the second team.
“All the guys have worked really hard,” Jones said.
“All of our walk-on quarterbacks have to be ready to play too. Our whole group is moving in the right direction. I have told them, and they know it, everyone has to be ready to play. With this Coronavirus stuff, anything can happen. Everyone in that room has to be ready to get their number called. I think they have done a great job, whether it is a freshman coming in or someone moving into an older spot.”
Regardless of the success Jones had in 2019, some Alabama fans have Young as the starter this year.
As a former high school state champion, Jones looks at the bond he has made with his teammates and the overall work he has put in that should earn him the opportunity to start.
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“It all goes back to my teammates,” he said.
“Those guys trust me and hopefully, I can earn their respect every day. At the end of the day, I just want to have fun and win because winning is fun. Coach (Saban) is going to put the best player out there and I have earned it over the years. I continue to try to be the best teammate and player I can be to get us to the national championship. It goes back to just focusing on my job and doing what I am supposed to do. We are going to have a very good team and hopefully, I can be the leader for our team.”
Even with it being two weeks away from its season opener versus Missouri, Jones feels ‘really good’ about this team.
He was a late bloomer in high school and has been overlooked a lot, but that has never bothered him.
“I have always believed in myself,” Jones said. “I feel confident in myself and my teammates will say the same.”
One of the coolest lessons he learned did not come from Saban. In 2017 and 2018, Jones sat behind Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. Both players were big talents, but it was the love they had for each other and the team that won over Jones.
“It was a really cool opportunity for me to learn from them,” Jones said. “Seeing how they led our team, whether Tua was in or Jalen was in, they both did a great job as leaders. Regardless of the title, those two guys did their job and they took pride in doing what they were supposed to do. Just watching them lead has been a learning experience for me. They are both level-headed guys and Coach Saban likes that in a quarterback. I got to see how that works and I’m emulating that in my game.”
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He fell in love with the game of football between five and six years old, but Jones has developed into a better man and player under Saban at Alabama. Two quarterbacks that he patterns his game after, in terms of the National Football League, are Tom Brady and Brett Favre.
Favre, who played 20 seasons (1991-10), won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 1996 and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Brady, 43, is about to enter his 21st NFL season (first with Tampa Bay) and has won six Super Bowls (all with New England Patriots).
“Tom Brady is my guy,” Jones said. “He just does everything right. I emulate his process… And Brett Favre is another one. We are similar in that we like to have fun with the gunslinger mentality. Tom Brady and Brett Favre are my two big ones.”
Like Jones, Brady was overlooked in college and he was not taken until the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Jones also has a gunslinger mindset, but he likes to simply have fun more than anything.
His teammates feed off his energy and this season is going to be a great one for him.
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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.
