Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is entering his junior season with the Crimson Tide. He and senior DeVonta Smith are two of the four wide receivers from the 2019 season that will be returning after the team lost Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III to the 2020 NFL draft.
Along with Jeudy and Ruggs went starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, arguably the biggest loss to the Crimson Tide offense.
Waddle spoke to the media on Saturday about two quarterbacks that are high on Alabama’s depth chart, redshirt-junior Mac Jones and former five-star true freshman Bryce Young.
Jones is expected to be the starter to begin the season, but there is talk that Young’s talent could allow him to jump Jones’ on the depth chart, earning him a starting role.
After Tagovailoa went down with a season-ending hip injury during a November game against Mississippi state, Jones became Alabama’s starting quarterback. In 2019, he recorded a 68.7% completion rate for 1,503 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
A true freshman starting quarterback is nothing new for Nick Saban and his staff. Jalen Hurts earned the starting Job in 2016 and continued on to lead them to the National Championship game. In 2017, when Alabama was losing to Georgia at the half, Saban decided to put in true freshman Tua Tagovailoa, a move that helped Saban earn ring No. 6, and title No. 17 for the Crimson Tide.
Waddle spoke abut the work the two quarterbacks have put in during practice.
On Mac Jones:
“I think he’s taking a more personal role,” said Waddle on Saturday. “He’s more confident, he’s really leading the team. He came in late last year, so it was more of a process of him getting better and more confident with the offense. Now, he’s looking really, really good.
Mini-camp and the camp that we are having right now, we’ve been getting a lot of reps, a lot more reps than usual. So, I thin the chemistry has just continued to get better over time.”
On Bryce Young:
“Bryce is looking really good,” said Waddle. “He’s learning- he learns quick and fast. he’s really just showing his talent and what he can do.”
Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle will have a bigger role in Alabama's offense this year.
He spoke Saturday about his growing chemistry with Mac Jones and the QB's progression.@AlabamaFTBL #RollTide #RTR @JOXRoundtable #JOXCity #SEC @WJOX945 pic.twitter.com/Qh7rni7lyX— Jim Dunaway (@jimdunaway) August 23, 2020