By Michael Casagrande
Correspondent
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – On a scale of 1 to 10, the pain is about a 5 or 6.
In light of his play last Saturday, Alabama receiver Julio Jones doesn’t seem too affected by the broken bone in his left hand. But make no mistake, every time the ball reaches his left palm, he feels it.
“Oh, yeah, my hand hurts every time I catch the ball,” Jones said.
Catching 12 passes for a school-record 221 yards Saturday against Tennessee is just his latest defiance of pain for the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide. Surgery after the loss to South Carolina left a plate and screws in the hand for good, but Jones was determined not to miss the Tennessee game.
He had to come out of the Ole Miss game a week earlier when his stitches were stretched as he tried to catch a first-quarter pass.
“He came to me on Sunday [beginning Tennessee week],” coach Nick Saban said. “I wanted to talk to him about his hand going into the week, and his response to me was ‘I don’t want to be held out of anything. I want to practice and do everything. I need to practice and do everything if I’m going to play well in the game.’
“I thought he practiced like he always practices.”
Jones played almost the whole game against South Carolin with the broken bone that he kept a secret from almost everybody. It happened on a play in which he caught a pass along the sideline and a Gamecocks player ripped his helmet off. He stayed in one more play to block before going the bench.
“I pushed down on my hand and I knew it was broken,” Jones said. “I told the strength coach, [Scott] Cochran, ‘I think I broke my hand.’ But I told him to not to tell nobody. I was going to wait until halftime and see.”
He caught seven more passes and finished with 118 yards that afternoon.
“It is just a mental thing,” Jones said. “I just blocked it out.”
Of course the pain was more manageable by the time he arrived in Knoxville last Saturday, when he faced something he wasn’t used to. Focusing on stopping the run, the Volunteers left Jones in man-to-man coverage when he was more accustomed to double teams with safeties helping guard against the deep threat.
And quarterback Greg McElroy was quick to recognize it.
“I think I realized that the second play of the game,” McElroy said. “I wouldn’t say it was disrespect, but any time they press Julio without a safety over the top, it’s kind of, what are you doing? That’s kind of what I’m thinking in my head. Then again, they did it and the chances were there to be made, and he did a great job [getting past stacking at the line]. … We were able to put it over the top, so I think it’s a credit to him.”
So does Jones see any disrespect in a defense that tries to jam him at the line of scrimmage without a safety helping out?
“Oh, yes, sir,” said Jones, who has 45 catches for 669 yards this season. “I just feel like we have the timing. I trust Greg enough to put the ball up. I tell him, even in practice, just put it near me and I’ll go and make a play on the ball. I’ll do my job to catch the ball.
“Just put it anywhere and I’ll try to make a play on it.”
Contact Michael Casagrande at sports@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273.