OXFORD, Miss. – Who says you have to play offense to score with regularity?
After returning an interception 55 yards for a touchdown in a 38-10 win over Western Kentucky last weekend, Alabama senior safety Eddie Jackson had an 85-yard punt return for a score late in the first half Saturday against Ole Miss. Jackson’s special-teams score pulled the Crimson Tide within 24-17 in a game they eventually won 48-43.
“The punt-return team made some great blocks,” Jackson said. “I just saw a lane and I hit it. We needed a big play, and I was able to make it.”
Jackson scored on his first career punt return, with sophomore receiver Calvin Ridley and freshman receiver Trevon Diggs having shared that responsibility through Alabama’s first two games this season. Diggs compiled 15 yards on two returns, while Ridley netted just 4 yards on two returns.
“We were looking for somebody where that could be their role and that they could be explosive in that role,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “Eddie has always been a guy who’s had great instincts and judgment. He may not be as lights-out explosive as some other guys, but he is so good at picking his way on interception returns.
“In the first two games, we had two opportunities for big returns and the returner missed them both, so we just decided that this would be the time for him to do it. We have a lot of confidence in him, and it was a big play in the game.”
Jackson’s score was the first on a punt return for Alabama since Cyrus Jones went 57 yards during the 38-0 thrashing of Michigan State last New Year’s Eve in the Cotton Bowl. Jones was responsible for 42 of the Tide’s 47 punt returns last season and averaged 12.6 yards a return while scoring four touchdowns.
Big men rambling
Alabama defensive linemen Da’Ron Payne and Jonathan Allen reached the end zone Saturday, but from very different distances.
Payne was credited with a 3-yard return of a fumble caused by Ryan Anderson, who slammed into Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly early in the third quarter to help Alabama pull into a 24-24 tie. Allen snatched a ball from Kelly with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter and was credited with a 75-yard interception return that gave the Tide their largest lead at 48-30.
“I was just trying to wrap inside, and then I got my head up and the ball just happened to bounce my way,” Allen said. “Thank God for my teammates blocking for me. They’re the ones who really allowed me to get to the end zone, and I have to give them a lot of credit.”
Said Jackson: “To see a big guy like that score is great. I welcomed him to the pick-six club.”
Tide tidbits
The 146 rushing yards by Jalen Hurts rank fifth in Alabama history for a quarterback in a single game, with Harry Gilmer’s 216 against Kentucky in 1945 still safely in front. Saban said redshirt junior receiver ArDarius Stewart has a knee sprain and hopes to have him back in a couple of weeks. Saban on Stewart walking around on the sideline with an axe: “I’ve never seen the axe before and really don’t know much about it. I don’t really think it had any impact on the outcome of the game.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.