The quarterback has long been the position on every Nick Saban led offense that historically sees the least amount of appreciation. Until Tua Tagovailoa, every signal-caller has been deemed to be a game manager or marginally talented. But current quarterback Mac Jones is continuing to break that stigma around the offense and with his calm and steady demeanor, he’s leading the unit to record-breaking games.
So far on the season, Jones has thrown for 1,101 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception. His average of 13.27 yards per attempt along with his completion percentage of 79.52 has been anything but pedestrian as both lead the entire SEC.
He’s pushing the ball down the field accurately and it showed immensely against Ole Miss on Saturday.
In a game where Alabama’s defense was letting points up left and right, Jones and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian weathered every punch Lane Kiffin’s team through at them. When looking at Jones and the offense on the sidelines there was never any panic or desperation throughout the game, they were prepared to answer the bell every time.
He went 28/32 for 417 yards with two touchdowns and was prepared to lead the offense to a score every time if need be. And he was even disappointed after the game for the opportunities the team missed.
“We knew we had to score pretty much every possession,” Jones said following the game. “That was kind of our game plan. And we really didn’t do that, so we’ve gotta fix the two possessions that we didn’t score. But for us to keep playing as a unit and for everyone to do their jobs for 60 minutes straight and with that many plays is pretty impressive.”
By watching the game, one would not have noticed that Jones is ever in any sort of negative mood on offense. Even in a tied game against Ole Miss he is on the field urging his teammates on with a smile and relieving any pressure the team faces.
It would be normal for any top five team to start pressing offensively if a game against an unranked opponent came down to the last two minutes, but the poise of the offense was never shaped by the score and that’s why the team was able to come out with a 63-48 win.
And the team will need Jones to continue to be the rock of the offense that can lead the team into battle against Georgia next week.
“We’re just happy that we won,” Jones said. “Trying to just look forward to next week. Yeah, it was fun, but we can do better. We have to do better as a team, and that goes back to out leadership and practice and making everyone better — special teams, defense, offense. Yeah, it feels good. We won, that’s good.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
