Alabama wide receiver Christion Jones (22) catches a pass for a touchdown as Virginia Tech safety Desmond Frye (26) defends in the second in the half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, in Atlanta.
Alabama wide receiver Christion Jones (22) runs past Virginia Tech defensive end Matt Roth (91) and linebacker Chase Williams (36) on a touchdown run from a punt return during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, in Atlanta.ATLANTA – Alabama junior receiver Christion Jones had an experimental stint at cornerback this spring.
No need to tinker with his special-teams skills.
Jones had a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 94-yard kickoff return for a score Saturday night as top-ranked Alabama defeated Virginia Tech 35-10 before a packed Georgia Dome crowd of 73,114. The vaunted Crimson Tide offense was inconsistent much of the evening, but the game was never in doubt due to Jones, whose two first-half scoring returns totaling 166 yards topped the 97 first-half yards compiled by Alabama’s offense.
“If it’s not the offense, then it’s the defense, and if it’s not the defense, it has to be special teams,” Alabama defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan said. “They came up with two touchdowns and the defense came up with one, and those are game changers.”
According to Alabama’s record books dating back to 1944, Jones is the first Tide player to score two special-teams or non-offensive touchdowns in the same game.