Some of the best quarterback to wide receiver duos in college football happened at the University of Alabama.
John Parker Wilson had that relationship with Julio Jones, Blake Sims had it with Amari Cooper, Jacob Coker had it with Calvin Ridley, Tua Tagovailoa had it with all his receivers, Mac Jones had it with DeVonta Smith, and Bryce Young had it with Jameson Williams. When he needed big plays as a first-year starting quarterback, Jalen Milroe looked to Jermaine Burton. Isaiah Bond had the incredible catch on 4th and 31 versus Auburn, better known as “Gravedigger,” but Burton was Milroe’s No. 1 in 2023.
Are we seeing a new special relationship form between a quarterback and receiver at Alabama?
Crimson Tide fans got excited at Saban Field last week versus Mercer.
In the fourth quarter, two freshmen connected on a 31-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Both assisted the Tide to a 52-7 victory over the Bears. Austin Mack and Rico Scott were the freshmen on the play. Mack is a transfer quarterback from Washington, while Scott came on campus in the summer as a former four-star wide receiver from Pennsylvania.
The two celebrated the moment they had, but Mack detailed the level of confidence he has in Scott to Roger Hoover in a recent interview via Crimson Tide Sports Network. The 6-foot-6, 236-pounder loves throwing the football to No. 11 on the field.
“@Rico_Scott1 is a playmaker. All the quarterback has to do is get the ball to the playmaker.”
– @AustinMack2024 on his TD pass to Scott vs Mercer.@Roger_Hoover‘s Full Interview on Thursday’s Crimson Drive driven by @NASCAR at 2 pm on @UA_CTSN: https://t.co/tgBThLFa8p pic.twitter.com/PBDoUWSKJQ— Crimson Tide Sports Network (@UA_CTSN) November 20, 2024
“Rico is a playmaker,” Mack said. “All the quarterback has to do is get the ball to the playmaker. Pretty much every day at practice I am throwing the ball to Rico. I have 100 percent confidence in him being able to make those plays 10 out of 10 times.”
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This is the same confidence Sims had in Cooper in 2014. It did not matter if Cooper was doubled or triple covered, Sims was getting him the ball. Coker was getting Ridley the ball in 2015 no matter what the defense was trying to dictate. Jones helped Smith become the first wide receiver in school history in 2020 to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy. Smith got the ball in a variety of ways that season and torched Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Young made sure he found Williams for every deep play opportunity in 2021 for Alabama. All he had to do was get the ball to Williams and the speedster did the rest. The connection between Mack and Scott can be something very nice for the future of Tide football.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
