Alabama football: 5 bold predictions for the Crimson Tide in 2020

Alabama football bold prediction No. 2: Mac Jones throws for 3,500 yards

As mentioned previously, the expectation should be for Alabama’s offense to look much different than it did over the past two seasons. With the talented Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, they were far more pass-happy than really any previous iteration of the Crimson Tide that we’ve seen before. Now that he’s gone, it’s more than likely that we’ll see more of a focus placed on the rushing attack.

But no one should be sleeping on Mac Jones.

With the truncated offseason, it seems almost a certainty that Jones will take the starting job over much-ballyhooed 5-star freshman Bryce Young simply based on experience. And when Jones took over in the pass-happy offense last season, he performed incredibly well. With four starts and some spot duty, Jones went 97-of-141 for 1,503 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Crimson Tide aren’t going to be throwing as much, that’s for certain, so don’t expect him to throw for the 4,000 yards that Alabama quarterbacks have combined for well over in the past two seasons. Having said that, Jones isn’t going to be like Jake Coker or other game managers that came before him in Tuscaloosa.

Instead, Jones is going to benefit from the strength of the rushing attack and the lanes that opens up for the previously touched-upon Waddle, DeVonta Smith and even John Metchie. He’ll find a ton of success in the deep-passing game and come up with at least a 3,500-yard passing season.