As Alabama was unleashing its aerial assault during last Saturday's 52-24 humbling of Texas A&M inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, a couple of former Crimson Tide receivers expressed their pleasure from afar.
"Can't stop that Alabama O," Denver Broncos rookie Jerry Jeudy proudly posted on Twitter.
Added Las Vegas Raiders rookie Henry Ruggs: "Everything still everything. Roll Tide."
John Metchie certainly did his part to aid Alabama's rout on an offense that racked up 435 passing yards and a staggering 21.8 yards per completion and 16.1 yards per attempt. The 6-foot, 195-pound sophomore led all receivers with five catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns and later saw the social media posts by Jeudy and Ruggs, who were first-round picks in April's NFL draft.
"I think it's all about playing to our standard at the end of the day," Metchie said this week on a Zoom call. "It's about playing to the standard that the guys before have set."
Alabama has scored 90 points through two games entering this week's trip to Ole Miss, which may or may not transpire due to the projected path of Hurricane Delta. The Southeastern Conference announced through a statement Tuesday that it is monitoring weather activity in the Gulf of Mexico and will stay in contact with schools in preparation for this weekend's games.
Metchie spent his freshman season understandably buried on a depth chart containing Jeudy, Ruggs, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. Smith is now a senior and Waddle a junior for the Crimson Tide, but the rapid emergence of Metchie has provided additional headaches for opposing secondaries.
"We've always thought that Jonathan is a real threat," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Saturday. "He got the opportunities in this game, and I think you'll see different guys out of the corps have these opportunities on various days. He's a very capable guy who has worked really hard, and I think this will help his confidence.
"We need as many weapons as we possibly can."
Metchie, who was born in Taiwan, raised in Ghana and then Canada, and played high-school football in Maryland and then New Jersey, tallied just four catches for 23 yards in limited action a year ago. In this season's 38-19 opening win at Missouri, he collected two catches for 42 yards, which marked one of the briefest career-best performances in Crimson Tide history.
This past Saturday's eruption has resulted in Metchie ranking sixth in the SEC with seven receptions for 223 yards and 111.5 receiving yards a game. Waddle ranks second in the conference and is considered the star of the group, but Metchie's eye-popping 31.9 yards per reception tops everybody in the league's star-studded crop at the position.
"I don't think everybody can be like Waddle and be extremely fast, which is super unfair," Metchie said with a smile, "but I think I've got some speed, too."
Jones honored
Redshirt junior quarterback Mac Jones, who completed 20 of 27 passes (74.1%) for a career-best 435 yards and four touchdowns against Texas A&M, was selected Tuesday by the Maxwell Football Club as the national player of the week. His performance resulted in a passer rating of 250.9.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.