Despite losing Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III to the NFL, Alabama football coach Nick Saban is loving what he sees from the Tide’s receivers this year.
Being the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide has one main downfall, which is that it’s rare when players stay with the program for the full run, instead choosing to enter the NFL Draft so that they can begin their professional careers.
This past year, Alabama had their top two receivers bolt for the NFL Draft in Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, but head coach Nick Saban is quite impressed with what he’s seeing from the receivers who are returning.
“Obviously, we lost two great players and we have two great players coming back, and those two guys are both playing like great players, Saban said.”
DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle are the two great players that Saban was referring to who will be returning to Tuscaloosa for the 2020 season. Both could very well be future first round picks. With those two jumping up the depth chart with the departures of Jeudy and Ruggs, it’s crucial for other players to step up and prove themselves.
This is where names like John Metchie, Slade Bolden, and Javon Baker start to gain traction and Saban has been impressed by what these three guys are providing prior to the season opener.
“Metchie has done a really, really good job, so we have a lot of confidence in him,” Saban continued. “Slade Bolden has done a good job. We have confidence in him. Those are the experienced guys. And then these freshmen — Javon Baker has shown promise. I just think they need to develop consistency in A) knowing what to do, and B) going out there and playing with confidence.”
Saban noted he’s been the most impressed with Baker because he hasn’t missed much practice and has had the best continuity of the bunch, but he’s liking what he’s seeing from his young group.
Alabama has become the wide receiver factory, churning out Jeudy, Ruggs, Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley in recent years and Smith and Waddle will likely soon join that group of Crimson Tide receivers to go in the first round.
It’s impressive what Nick Saban has been able to do at the wide receiver spot during his time at Alabama and it appears his group is still poised to go quite far.
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