Is Jermaine Burton finally beginning to break out at Alabama?
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — This was the Jermaine Burton Alabama thought it was getting when it brought him in from Georgia this offseason. The junior receiver easily put together his best game in a Crimson Tide jersey Saturday, reeling in seven receptions for 128 yards and a pair of scores during Alabama’s 34-0 victory over Austin Peay.
Sure, the performance came against FCS competition, but it was promising nonetheless. All seven of Burton’s catches went for first downs or touchdowns, while five of them came on balls that traveled more than 10 yards in the air. That included a 23-yard completion on fourth down to keep a drive alive in the second quarter as well as a 50-yard gain that would have gone for a touchdown had Bryce Young hit him in stride.
"We’ve had a lot of confidence in Jermaine all year long, and I think he did an outstanding job today, was really important," Nick Saban said after the game. "I think one of the biggest players in the game was a fourth-down conversion to him early in the game that allowed us to go down and score."
Following his fourth-down heroics, Burton went on to cap off Alabama’s second scoring with a 4-yard touchdown reception from Young. The two hooked up again for Alabama’s final score of the game as Young tossed the ball to a wide-open Burton for an easy 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately for Alabama, Burton hasn’t been able to maintain Saturday’s consistency throughout the season. The Georgia transfer has started 10 games over 11 appearances this season but has recorded 50 or more yards through the air just three times.
The encouraging sign is that two of those have come in the last two weeks. Before going off against Austin Peay, Burton put in a solid performance against Ole Miss, tallying five receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown during Alabama’s 30-24 victory over the Rebels. The junior is now quietly tied for the team lead with six receiving touchdowns and ranks second with 34 receptions for 503 yards.
"I’ve known what Jermaine could do since he got here in the summer when we were doing 7-on-7," Branch said. "Just watching him be able to do that in a game, we’ve already known what he can do, so it’s nothing new.”
Burton’s current stats have already surpassed last season’s totals when he recorded 26 receptions for 497 yards and five touchdowns over 14 games at Georgia. Still, it’s unclear how this year’s production positions him for next year’s NFL Draft.
Burton is draft-eligible after this season but still will still have two seasons of eligibility at Alabama remaining if he chooses. That decision will likely depend on how the rest of the season plays out, but for now, the Crimson Tide is enjoying capitalizing on the receiver’s hot hands.