With little talk of QB battle, Jones looks poised to lead Alabama's offense

In a normal year, the storylines would be different.

Mac Jones spoke to local media members through a Zoom call Friday afternoon, marking the first availability for an Alabama player since the Crimson Tide’s Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan on New Year’s Day.

Typically such an occasion would be rife with questions concerning Alabama’s quarterback position. Jones ended last season with back-to-back 300-yard passing games against top-30 defenses while filling in for injured starter Tua Tagovailoa, who has since made way for the NFL. Meanwhile, the Tide brought in the nation’s top-rated quarterback recruit in Bryce Young, who some say could be a generational player at the position.

However, Young’s name was mentioned just once Friday as talk of the worldwide pandemic dominated the conversation. Jones’ success late last season paired with the loss of a spring camp this year seem to have snuffed out any chance of an impending quarterback competition at Alabama.

With Jones' starting status all but cemented, the few footballing questions he faced Friday instead revolved around his growing role in the Tide’s offense.

“We’ve been grinding. Everyone looks really good. I feel like the overall morale of the team is really good,” Jones said. “Obviously, as a leader, I can see some of these young guys look really good, and all of my older teammates look great, as well. So, we’re all moving in the right direction.”

Jones, who has been at the forefront of college football’s #WeWantToPlay movement, fielded questions with the poise you would expect from a seasoned quarterback. Then again he’s had a head start on his new lead role.

Jones made four starts last season, throwing for 1,172 yards and 13 touchdowns while recording just two interceptions over that span. That pace would see him net 2,930 yards and 32 touchdowns through the air over Alabama’s upcoming 10-game regular-season schedule.

While it’s worth noting two of Jones’ starts were against SEC bottom-dweller Arkansas and FCS foe Western Carolina, he performed his best against tougher competition. His 89.8 quarterback rating against Auburn topped the 85.0 rating Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow put up against the Tigers. During Jones’ most recent outing against a No. 10-rated Michigan pass defense, he completed 16 of 25 (64 percent) of his passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

“I think that this goes to my teammates and my coaches like preparing me well. They made it a lot easier for me,” Jones said. “I didn't feel like I was the backup quarterback coming in. The older guys on the team and some of the younger guys, too, were just supporting me and making that easier. So I didn't feel like I was in a position of, you know, pressure or anything like that. I just felt like, hey, I've been here for three years and these are the same guys I've been with, and we're just going to go out and play and have fun.”

While Jones should have first run at the starting role this season, he doesn’t seem to be letting his newfound status get to his head. Friday, the former four-star recruit reminded reporters that he has never been shy of competition, noting that he committed to the Tide after his fellow Class of 2017 teammate Tagovailoa.

“I chose Alabama because I want to win a national championship,” Jones said. “I want to play with my teammates, and I’ve obviously met some of my closest friends and we’ve won a lot of games and we want to continue to do that. But we have great players.

“Every year, there’s going to be great quarterbacks coming in, and every year there’s going to be great linebackers and everything. For me, it’s just putting my head down and working and trying to lead the team and get everybody ready to play because we really don’t know what’s going to happen this year. Some people could miss games, but everyone’s got to be ready to roll. I think all of our quarterbacks have done a really good job preparing that way and preparing like the starter. We’re just moving forward.”