30 best Alabama football players to play for Nick Saban

Best Alabama football players under Nick Saban: 13. Mac Jones

Mac Jones was “the other guy” for a while when Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts were making crazy plays under center. He was a much different kind of quarterback than those two, so Alabama would need to change their offense entirely once he took over. He did take over must sooner than expected when Tagovailoa suffered a major hip injury in 2019 against Mississippi State. The kid was immediately the new starter, and he had to make this work in his new offense.

Jones got into seven games before that because Alabama was crushing teams that season. However, this was different. Alabama was coming into the meat of its schedule, and they already had a loss to number one LSU. They couldn’t afford another loss. Jones played his heart out against Auburn, throwing for 335 yards and four touchdowns, but the Tigers took the game and the Iron Bowl in 2019. Jones would go on to put another great performance together in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan, giving himself momentum going into the next season.

Jones was phenomenal in his junior year. He threw for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just 4 interceptions. He made almost zero mistakes, and he led Alabama to their first undefeated season in over a decade. The Crimson Tide easily won the National Championship, as Jones threw for nine touchdowns in the College Football Playoff. People still talk about the performance of DeVonta Smith in the National Championship Game against Ohio State, but Jones was the player who got him the ball.

Longevity is the reason Jones isn’t higher on the list. He left for the NFL after one season, getting taken in the first round by the New England Patriots. He’s not the talent that some of the other Alabama quarterbacks of recent years have been, but he’s going to show his growth in Tuscaloosa in the NFL.