Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III will see their lives change Thursday as they are both expected to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft. However, before the excitement kicks off, the two Alabama receivers took some time to reflect with an old assistant coach.
Jeudy and Ruggs were a part of Maryland head coach Mike Locksley’s Instagram Live show, “Late Night with Locks,” on Tuesday evening where they discussed their draft plans among other topics with the former Alabama offensive coordinator.
The two weren’t the only Tide receivers to have a reunion with Locksley as he started the show with former Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley, who is now playing alongside fellow Crimson Tide great Julio Jones for the Atlanta Falcons.
Locksley revealed that he was actually a part of Ridley’s draft party in South Florida before the receiver was selected No. 28 overall in 2018. Ridley said he chose to have his draft party at home amongst friends and family instead of attending the draft in person so he could spend time with the people who helped him on his journey.
Of course, every draftee will have to celebrate their moment remotely as the draft is set to held virtually instead of its original location of Las Vegas due to the COVID-19 outbreak. That caused a slight change of plans for Ruggs, who said he was looking forward to attending the draft.
“You know I’m disappointed, bro. I wanted to be down there,” Ruggs said. “I wanted to be down there just to connect with everybody and be around that atmosphere. And I wanted to put on a suit. You know, we always had that little thing going on. But I mean it’s good to be here, be around family. We gathered the family all together, so I'm not tripping.”
Instead of traveling, Ruggs said he plans to watch the draft with family at home, stating he will cater in pizza and wings while his auntie bakes desserts. The Montgomery, Ala., native said he’s been enjoying being home after training for the draft in Tampa, Fla. In fact, if it were up to him, he’d like to be selected by a team in the South.
“You know how I am,” Ruggs said. “I ain’t never got away from Alabama for real until, you know, recruiting started and I started playing for Alabama. If you ask me, I want to stay close to home, but it don’t matter. Wherever I go, I got to ball. I’ve got to do the same thing I’ve been doing.”
Jeudy is also taking a low-key approach Thursday, as he will watch the draft with his family as well as his newborn baby daughter, Journey, at home in South Florida.
“Oh, I wasn’t going to go to Vegas,” Jeudy said. “I was going to do it right at the crib where all my peoples is at. Have everybody come over, just chilling, relaxing, watching things happen.”
Still, the star receiver expects the moment to be intense
“It’s going to be crazy,” Jeudy said. “I don’t think I’m going to cry because I’m not the type to cry. I don’t cry… I’m going to be happy, but I won’t cry.”
Locksley poked fun at Jeudy for training too hard in preparation for the draft, stating that he needs to cut out some of his unnecessary competitions in order to make sure he keeps himself healthy. Ridley, who is entering his third season in the NFL, was also asked to provide some advice to his former teammates as they head into the league.
“Condition, condition, condition,” Ridley said. “Come in ready and take advantage of the book when they give it to you because when I got mine I felt like it was a lot out of the gate. I just felt like I could have took better advantage of just getting on it every night.”
Jeudy and Ruggs are both widely projected to be selected in the top 15 picks. The draft is set to begin Thursday at 7 p.m. CT. The second and third rounds will be held on Friday, while rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday.
“I’m real excited,” Ruggs said. “It’s something we’ve been working for. It’s something that you never saw as a kid, and now that it’s here now, it’s not coming anymore — it’s here. It’s crazy.”
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Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.
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