re: Bama Football Tidings

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New Mexico State week continued Tuesday in Tuscaloosa with a spirited practice under sunny skies.

A few observations from the media viewing period:

-- Offensive lineman Emil Ekiyor Jr. was out for a second straight practice after hurting his leg Saturday. Nick Saban said it could be a week or two for him.

-- Defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe also remains out. He was on the sideline Saturday using a scooter with a walking boot protecting his injured left leg.

-- The offensive line experimentation would likely continue another week, Saban said Monday. It looked like Landon Dickerson and Jedrick Wills were still with the first group on the right side with Evan Neal and Alex Leatherwood on the left side.

-- It’s also worth noting that Deonte Brown has three more games left on his NCAA suspension. He was a real difference maker as a run blocker late last season before injuries and the suspension sidelined him for the playoff.

-- With Saturday’s forecast calling for 100-degree weather and a 3 p.m. kickoff, dealing with the conditions will be part of the game-week plan. Watching the defensive line, Raekwon Davis had a heavy long-sleeved t-shirt under his pads. None of the other linemen had that as part of the wardrobe.

-- Outside linebackers coach Sal Sunseri remains king of the one-liners while coaching with as much passion as any assistant in my time covering Alabama.

-- Former Alabama coach Ray Perkins was watching the action from the sideline.

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No. 4 for the Crimson Tide still has a season to play, but is already in elite company with the program's all-time greats

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There are times when they have to stop the game film because of what they just saw.

Occasionally it’s for Henry Ruggs III, Jaylen Waddle or DeVonta Smith, who have all made their share of spectacular plays for Alabama and are considered to be among the best wide receivers in college football.

But more often the guy who has his teammates in awe is junior wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.
“You just like, ‘Wow, how does somebody do something like that?’” Smith said.

On Saturday, against Duke, Jeudy put on another highlight show. He paced the Crimson Tide wideouts with 10 catches for 137 yards and one touchdown.

But how he did it was even more impressive.

There was the spin move. The burst. His trying to run through everyone while attempting to reach the end zone, something the coaching staff might try and get him to do less of in the future and probably won’t have much success.

“The first thing that goes through my head when I get the ball is score,” Jeudy said. “So I just try to score and never let the first guy tackle me. That’s my mindset when I catch the ball.”

The touchdown reception moved him into fourth place on the Alabama career list, tying Ruggs and DJ Hall (2004-07), only no one in the Crimson Tide receivers room has been talking about that

Seriously, did you see that spin move?

Jeudy admits it was probably unnecessary, but his teammates called it worthy of the ‘B’ button on the Madden video game.

“There are things Jerry can do that not everybody is able to do, he’s got some spider senses or something when somebody’s around him, he’s gifted,” Smith said. “It just depends on who the person is and how you react to things.”

As just the program’s second winner of the Fred Biletnikoff Award for best receiver in college football, Jeudy is already in rare territory when it comes to his place in Alabama history — and not because he has a chance to be the third repeat winner.

Jeudy has already proven that he’s the complete package at the position, a rare player who is exceptional at route running, has great hands, speed and a knack for making big plays. He even blocks well, and not just for the offense.

While everyone was looking at Waddle on punt returns, he was one of the players taking out Duke players downfield — albeit with limited success in this game as Jeudy got his first holding call.

“I’ve seen linemen falling on d-linemen, where they pancake them,” he said. “I thought we could fall on the punt. But I guess you can’t.”

Regardless, he’s being called by some the best overall player in the 2020 NFL Draft, and the best prospect at the position in years.

Yes, that includes recent Crimson Tide first-round draft picks Calvin Ridley, Amari Cooper and maybe even Julio Jones.

It sounds almost unbelievable, but Jeudy has a chance to go down as the greatest wide receiver in Crimson Tide history.

His status won’t be determined until after this season, but consider the kind of status we’re talking about here (players listed in alphabetical order):

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