Jaylen Waddle ready to bring his magic to Alabama

Alabama’s season opener allowed freshman Jaylen Waddle to announce himself to the rest of college football. For his high school coach, it was another chance to say “I told you so.”

Waddle picked up SEC Freshman of the Week honors Monday after recording a combined 146 total yards in Alabama’s 51-14 win over Louisville. The dynamic receiver caught three passes for 66 yards and returned four punts for a total of 80 yards. Those numbers would have been even more impressive if Waddle’s 75-yard punt return for a touchdown had not been called back due to an illegal block in the back.

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While the rest of the nation marveled over the Crimson Tide’s next big offensive weapon, Steve Leisz sat back home in Houston, Texas with a smile and a sense of delayed satisfaction.

“None of that shocked us,” said Leisz, who coached Waddle at Episcopal High School. “That’s how he’s played the past four years.”

Leisz knew what he had in Waddle from the moment he stepped on the field. Due to Episcopal’s high academic standards, Leisz elected to hold Waddle back from football during his freshman season to allow him to focus more on his classwork. The young receiver wasn’t promoted to the varsity level until later that year during Episcopal's first game in the playoffs.

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The first of several awe-inspiring moments came during a kickoff return. Serving as the upback, Waddle fielded the ball at his own 18-yard line before using his 4.3-speed to jet past hapless defenders 82 yards down the field for a score.

Waddle gassed lesser private-school opponents. During his junior year, he averaged 28.8 yards per catch and scored touchdowns on 26 of his 48 receptions. He also carried the ball 23 times for 277 yards and four scores on the ground and returned five touchdowns on special teams.

“We called him ‘Magic,’” Leisz said. “One moment you saw him and the next he was gone.”

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As magical as Waddle was, many doubted the validity of his stats. Class 4A Southwest Preparatory Conference isn’t held in the same regard as Texas’ public school competition. Many questioned whether the 5-foot-10, 177-pound receiver was the real deal or just a product of a weaker talent pool.

“A lot of the physical stuff was obvious, his speed and shiftiness. That was great, but he also played at Episcopal which is a really small school that plays other really small programs,” said Rivals Texas recruiting analyst Nick Krueger. “So it was a little difficult. Even though he was running circles around everybody, we kind of waited a little bit before pushed him through to a five-star.”

Rivals.com was the only major recruiting service to give Waddle a five-star rating, tabbing him as the No. 7 receiver and No. 31 player overall. That ranking was due in part to a strong performance in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, an all-star game Leisz had to campaign to get Waddle into.

Despite Episcopal’s size, Leisz has seen plenty of talent come through the doors. He helped produce two five-stars in the 2017 class in offensive lineman Walker Little and defensive lineman Marvin Wilson. Little, earned Pac-12 Co-freshman Offensive Player of the Year at Stanford last season, while Wilson contributed as a freshman for Florida State.

He saw the same potential, if not more, in Waddle.

“They questioned his size,” Leisz said. “I told them, ‘Listen; there’s nobody like this guy in the country.’ I coached in the game two years ago. I said, ‘we’ve got a kid who’s special and needs to be in this game.’”

Waddle lived up to the hype, pulling in three receptions for 52 yards, including the eventual game-winning touchdown.

Given his size and skill set, Waddle drew comparisons to former Texas A&M receiver Christian Kirk. He grew up an hour and a half away from College Station and most projected him to stay at home and become the heir apparent to the Aggie great. Waddle shared a good relationship with first-year Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, who also recruited him while at Florida State. He is also good friends with former Episcopal teammate Jhamon Ausbon, who plays receiver for the Aggies.

However, when Waddle sat in front of a packed high school gymnasium on National Signing Day, his hand passed over the maroon Texas A&M hat in front of him as he chose to don a crimson Alabama one instead. While Alabama heavily targeted Waddle throughout the recruiting process, the Crimson Tide didn’t start gaining momentum until the star receiver visited campus for the first time.

“He came back and said ‘Coach, as a team they hold each other accountable. I want to go to school there,’” Leisz recalled. “He’s at Alabama for that reason. He loves competition; he wants to compete. Coach Saban offered him nothing other than a chance to compete, and he lives for that.”

Undaunted by a receiving corps that already featured a talented trio of sophomores in Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith and Henry Ruggs III, Waddle came to Alabama to do just that. After arriving on campus over the summer, the freshman drew instant attention as he torched the Crimson Tide’s secondary during preseason camp. He was the star of Alabama’s final scrimmage, tallying two touchdowns and more than 100 yards through the air.

"Man, that dude’s electric,” Alabama running back Josh Jacobs said. “He legit runs probably a 4.3 flat. He’s going to be a problem.”

Officially, Waddle was clocked with a 4.37 time in the 40-yard dash, but that isn’t the point. There are plenty of track stars in college football with straight-line speed. What makes Waddle special is his ability to change direction without slowing down.

“His center of gravity makes it so that change of direction is quick and powerful,” Krueger said. “Then he’s got such a strong lower half that the jump balls are something he can do out on the perimeter. That’s what makes him such a down-field threat because even though he’s shorter, he’ll still surprise you and win a jump ball, too.”

Saturday will be Waddle’s first opportunity to put on a show inside Bryant-Denny Stadium as Alabama takes on Arkansas State in its home opener at 2:30 p.m. CT.

“He’s going to make a lot of big plays,” Jacobs said. “You’ll see a lot of him throughout the year.”