30 best Alabama football players to play for Nick Saban

Greatest Alabama Players Under Nick Saban: 3. Julio Jones

There have been few players in the history of football who were a “sure thing” like Julio Jones. Back in high school, it was clear he was going to one day dominate “the” league. First, he had to dominate the college game, and that’s exactly what he did. He committed to Alabama on National Signing Day back in 2008, and Saban had himself a star.

Jones made an immediate impact. He was the first true freshman wide receiver to start the season as the top option in the history of the Alabama program. He ended up scoring a touchdown in the opener against Clemson in a 24-point rout of the Tide’s future rivals. His first big game came against the then-No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, where he had 94 yards and a touchdown. He was able to put together some great performances along the year, including against LSU (128 yards) and Florida in the SEC Title Game (124 yards).

Jones had a less impressive sophomore season. He had 596 yards as the Alabama offense was in transition. They were leaning on the run in Greg McElroy’s first year. They ended up winning the National Championship with Jones catching one ball. Jones was able to make more of an impact during his senior year.

The Crimson Tide had a down season in 2010, but Jones did not. He had multiple star-level performances that helped make things easy on McElroy. His performance against Auburn is still legendary, even though they lost. He had 199 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season with 73 catches and 1,133 yards. Jones also returned kicks and rushed the ball a few times. He was so amazing in his time with Alabama that he left a clear mark on the roster.