Alabama football is now officially Wide Receiver U

Alabama football has undergone a transformation from a power run game to Wide Receiver U.

All due respect to the likes of Clemson, USC, Ohio State and others who have previously laid claim to being Wide Receiver U, that distinction now belongs to Alabama.

This has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the Nick Saban era in Tuscaloosa. We had a feeling he would bring this former Southeastern blue-blood back to prominence shortly after he returned to the SEC in 2007. However, the defensive-minded head coach has almost unbelievably created a football culture where the country’s best receiving talents can absolutely thrive in.

These players turned Alabama football into Wide Receiver U?

Thus far, there have been at least seven players who have helped Alabama claim Wide Receiver U as their own. The first guy is the most important of them. Yes, we are talking about future first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons. His three years in school from 2008 to 2010 set the foundation that other great Alabama wideouts would soon follow.

Not long after Jones turned pro, the next great Alabama receiver emerged in the form of Amari Cooper. He was a crucial part of the Alabama passing game from 2012 to 2014. Like Jones, he would be a top-10 pick in his NFL Draft. He initially starred for the then-Oakland Raiders before being traded to “America’s Team”, where he is the No. 1 receiving option for the Dallas Cowboys.

With Jones and Cooper thriving in the NFL, next up for SEC dominance was Calvin Ridley. Like his predecessors, Ridley won championships in Tuscaloosa before being a first-round pick by Jones’ Falcons in 2018. Now in year three in the NFL, Ridley has emerged as one of the best No. 2 receivers in the game, starring opposite one of the greatest players in Falcons history.

Then once Ridley joined Jones and Cooper in the NFL, the Alabama receiving floodgates opened up most magnificently. In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide saw a pair of star receivers go in the first round. Henry Ruggs III went to the Las Vegas Raiders, while Jerry Jeudy ended up with the Denver Broncos. Both have shown flashes of brilliance in their first years in the league.

And those five are about to be joined by two more first-rounders in the 2021 NFL Draft. Both DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle are guaranteed to be first-round picks this spring. Waddle is an electrifying return man who is incredibly dynamic with the ball in his hands. As for Smith, he is a lock to win the Biletnikoff and may very well be a top-five finisher for the Heisman Trophy.

So if you think any other school is Wide Receiver U these days, think again because you are wrong.

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