Alabama’s receiver quartet of Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, DeVonte Smith and Jaylen Waddle totaled an eye-popping 201 catches last season for 3,597 yards and 38 touchdowns.
The foursome repeatedly tortured opposing secondaries, and they have turned the competition inward during the months that have followed. Who is the fastest of the bunch in the 40-yard dash?
“Ruggs won the last one, so you’ve got to go with the last one,” a smiling Waddle said this week in a news conference. “We all like to compete against each other on the field and off the field. We’re all really competitive, but it’s all friendly.
“We all love to have fun.”
The trio of Jeudy, Ruggs and Smith flourished as freshmen in the 2017 season, with Smith’s 41-yard overtime reception from Tua Tagovailoa against Georgia clinching the Crimson Tide’s fifth national championship under Nick Saban. Waddle arrived last year as a top-50 national prospect out of Houston and fit right in, collecting 45 catches for 848 yards (18.8 yards per catch) and seven scores.
Waddle had three receptions for 66 yards and four punt returns for 80 yards in his collegiate entrance against Louisville, and the 5-foot-10, 182-pounder had a 94-yard touchdown catch and a 63-yard punt return for a score four weeks later during the 56-14 thrashing of Louisiana-Lafayette.
His first touchdown against a Southeastern Conference foe was from 77 yards out against Tennessee, and it wound up being his favorite play from last year.
“Tua placing it right there on the money really made the play,” Waddle said.
Waddle wound up earning freshman All-America honors after leading all SEC newcomers with per-game averages of 3.1 receptions and 56.5 receiving yards. Nationally, his 18.8 yards per catch ranked 18th and his 14.6-yard average on 16 punt returns was fifth.
It was a dazzling debut by any measure, but Waddle has worked on getting in and out of routes a little faster as a sophomore, and Saban has noticed his efforts.
“As you gain experience, you gain a little more respect for, ‘If I do this right, I’ve got an even better chance to be successful,'” Saban said. “Jaylen has matured into that. He made a tremendous amount of plays last year, and hopefully he’ll continue that and have a great year for us.
“I do think he’s matured in terms of the fundamental things you need to do at the position to be successful on a more consistent basis.”
Alabama’s offense last season was under the guidance of Mike Locksley, but now it’s Steve Sarkisian’s show. Sarkisian is in his second stint with the Tide after spending the past two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.
Waddle likes what he has experienced so far in a Sarkisian attack.
“It’s creative,” he said. “It’s a lot of the same concepts from before, but he’s putting in his own little things.”
One look the Tide could display more this season is a four-receiver set that would maximize the wealth they possess on the perimeter.
“I hope we do more of that,” Waddle said. “It’s a unique style, and we’re pretty good wideouts.”
Tide tidbits
Alabama held a closed practice Saturday and will take Sunday off before resuming Monday. The Tide open their season next Saturday against Duke in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In Friday’s brief portion of practice open to the media, the first-team offensive line consisted of Alex Leatherwood at left tackle, Evan Neal at left guard, Chris Owens at center, Landon Dickerson at right guard and Jedrick Wills at right tackle. The first-team nickel package contained Trevon Diggs and Josh Jobe as the outside cornerbacks, Patrick Surtain as the “star” and Xavier McKinney and Jared Mayden as the safeties.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.