The Athletic - Mac Jones’ coming-to-the-NFL story

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Mac Jones was awake Saturday morning before the sun had risen in Foxboro. He was preparing to fly to Alabama, where his family was hosting a celebration that night in Tuscaloosa, and the New England Patriots’ first-round pick was brimming with excitement.

Not exactly for the party, no.

Jones had just gotten his first look at the Patriots’ playbook during his initial visit to Gillette Stadium, and he couldn’t wait to put it into action. So he blew up the phone of his longtime throwing coach, Joe Dickinson, at 5:30 a.m., eager to schedule a workout in order to be as prepared as possible for the Patriots’ upcoming rookie camp.

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Despite operating in the run-heavy Wing-T offense, Jones threw for 3,682 yards and 55 touchdowns as a junior and senior. By the time Alabama came calling his junior year, Jones was primed for coach Nick Saban.

Brent Key, Alabama’s offensive line coach from 2016-18, first watched Jones’ tape before showing it off to Saban. Then, Key trekked over to Bolles to watch Jones throw in person, and the interest snowballed. Former offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian visited their home as Alabama’s coaches reached a consensus.

Aside from the live arm, they recognized competitiveness, leadership and the mental stamina that thrived under a disciplined coach like Rogers. Saban wanted Jones in his program.

“I think you want to bring people into the program who have a competitive nature about them and have the desire to compete every day to win football games,” Key said. “The great ones you’re always around, no matter what age they are, they have a competitive nature to them.”

All the while, Kentucky fired Dawson after just one season and was set to transition to a run-based offense. Jones’ opinion was changing.

“I walked into the weight room,” former Bolles defensive coordinator Mike Barrett said. “(Jones) was over there on the bench, and they were all talking. I said, ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘Well, Nick Saban was here, and he offered me to go to Alabama.’ I said, ‘You told him, yes, didn’t you?’ He said, ‘Well, I told him I had to check with my parents.’

“I said, ‘What are you, a dumbass? Tell him you’re coming, then go home and ask your parents. Damn, son, if Nick Saban offers you, you say yes.’ He said yes that night.”

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Then there was the uproar over Jones’ commitment to Alabama, which already had Jalen Hurts on campus and was committed to five-star recruit Tua Tagovailoa. There was no direct path to the starting job, but Jones knew he’d redshirt as a freshman, learn the offense and continue to add weight. He planned to earn his degree in three years, at which point he believed he’d have his chance to start.

“There are so many of these guys who run away from competition, and he ran to it,” former Bolles assistant coach Wayne Belger said.

Not many others believed in Jones the way he believed in himself.

“Hundreds of people probably told me he’s making a mistake going to Alabama,” Fagan said. “Hundreds, if not more.”

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“He put in the work to develop. He didn’t just wait,” Sarkisian said. “That preparation and perseverance that he displayed could never be overlooked.”

Saban wanted a competitor, right? Well, he got his wish.

During Alabama’s winter conditioning program, the Fourth Quarter, Jones earned a hat or T-shirt for displaying maximum effort at the end of every single week. And that gear meant something. Coaches weren’t charitable with it.

Then, Jones became so confident in Alabama’s offense while running the scout team that he again took control of his own situation. During a run-heavy period against the first-team defense, which was stacking the line to prepare for a future opponent, Jones decided to take advantage.

Rather than running the plays off the coaches’ cards, Jones checked the routes and protections at the line, and he beat the defense for deep ball after deep ball. The scout team let the starters hear it, too, cheering and dancing toward the sideline.

The defense complained to Saban.

Saban barked at Jones.

Jones told Saban if he didn’t like it to tell his defense to stop it.

“Competitive as hell. He’s not afraid to go out there and ruffle feathers,” Key said. “That was a sign early that he has the football IQ, instincts and the ability to do those things. He also had the respect for coach Saban, but at the same time the no-fear aspect of it. The no-fear to go out there and do his own thing and be his own person, knowing there were going to be repercussions either way.”

Saban was heated on the field, but he laughed with the coaches inside the facility after practice. The legendary Alabama coach, who absolutely adored his defense, could only appreciate Jones’ moxie.

“Coach Saban loved that was the demeanor that Mac brought to the field every day,” Sarkisian said.

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