With the Southeastern Conference cancelling its spring meetings, the hope for football fans is that it does not lead to the season being lost in the upcoming fall.
As he enters his 14th year as head coach at Alabama, Nick Saban has a roster littered with productivity on both sides of the ball.
Even in the departures of Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy, Jedrick Wills, Henry Ruggs III and Xavier McKinney among others, the Crimson Tide remains in a better spot than most schools in college football for a shot to win a national championship.
At quarterback, the team has someone with extensive knowledge of the system.
RELATED: Alabama strength coach David Ballou shares helpful at home workouts
Mac Jones is back for a fourth year and though he’s not the most popular name, he is the most secure name. Not having spring practice hurts Bryce Young, as the five-star freshman phenom via California will not get the chance to show fans how special he is at the beginning of the process. Regardless of this setback, Jones showed last year that he’s more than capable of winning games and navigating the Tide to a national title. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., the former four-star and Elite 11 participant saw action in 12 games – including four as the starter.
Prior to him leading the huddle versus Arkansas, the knock against Jones was people did not believe he had the ability to orchestrate touchdown drives like Tagovailoa.
He answered all doubters and dropped 48 points on the Razorbacks in a victory. Within the same game, Jones assisted Jeudy back to being a 100-yard receiver. Jeudy had a six-game drought of not cracking the century mark, until he grabbed seven passes from Jones for 103 yards with two touchdowns.
People constantly blame Jones for the loss to Auburn, regardless of the toughness he showed in torching the Tigers for 335 passing yards and four scores. He guided Alabama to 45 points against one the best defensive fronts in college football. Of his two interceptions, one happened due to a lack of communication (which happens to everyone) and the other was a fluke play.
If one brings up the idea of Jones’ potential to lead the Tide to a championship, it is met immediately with skepticism. In a conversation with Jared Mayden, former Alabama safety, he told yours truly of Touchdown Alabama Magazine that ‘media attention’ surrounding the modern-day high school athlete is the reason why Jones is not getting the credit he deserves.
“Social media is so different now than when guys like myself and Mac Jones came in,” Mayden said. “These high school athletes come in with so much hype. When Mac came in, he didn’t have a massive following… so we got to see his work ethic. People on the outside don’t see that. We saw a guy that came in, kept at it and worked extremely hard. He torched both Auburn and Michigan, and the mistakes he made are those that can be corrected with more experience.”
Mayden, like other players, saw Jones grow from running the scout-team to working with the starters.
“Mac Jones is no scrub,” Mayden said. “He will be the best quarterback in the SEC this season and one of the best in college football. He may not be all that mobile, but that does not matter to Coach Saban. Jones has much athleticism as Jacob Coker, and Alabama won a national title with him. If he needs to lower his shoulder and get tough yards, Mac will do that. What it be cool for him to be a dual threat? Yeah, but not having the mobility does not hurt him at all.”
Jones was responsible for 327 passing yards with three touchdowns in a 35-16 victory for the Tide over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. He totaled 1,503 passing yards with 14 touchdowns to three picks. Jones will have a star-studded group of receivers, running backs and offensive linemen to create success. Hopefully, fans will get to see him tear up the sport in the fall.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
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.
