Alabama football: Mac Jones drawing rave reviews at Senior Bowl

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones had a strong start to Senior Bowl practices, doing everything he can to convince scouts he’s a serious pro prospect.

Mac Jones put up ridiculous passing numbers, contended for the Heisman Trophy and won a national title with Alabama. Yet his accomplishments in college remain clouded by the team factor: Did he elevate the Tide? Or did the Tide elevate him?

Prep for the NFL Draft will allow the quarterback to make his own name. It’s not taking very long either.

With Senior Bowl practices starting up this week, Jones has already picked up some serious praise.

Mac Jones has to prove himself as an NFL prospect at the Senior Bowl

Jones may garner a first-round selection in the draft, but he’s got plenty of room to climb in terms of overall draft boards. CBS Sports ranks him fifth among QBs behind Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance. USA Today has him sixth behind Kyle Trask.

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports tore through his film and numbers at Alabama and declared him “not an elite prospect.”

Fair or not, the perception of Jones is that he benefited greatly from the talent around him. When you’re protected by an elite offensive line and throwing to elite wide receivers while supported by an elite running back, it’s a whole lot easier to put up ungodly numbers like 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns while completing 77.4 percent of passes.

The Senior Bowl will allow Jones to separate himself from the Alabama of it all. He’ll live and die by his own skill. All he can do is to let that do the talking.

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