Tide teammates set for first NFL showdown
Mac Jones spent most of his college career at Alabama watching from the sideline — first behind Jalen Hurts and then backing up Tua Tagovailoa.
Hurts was first to join the Crimson Tide program in 2016, followed by Jones and Tagovailoa in 2017. By the time they finished their respective runs in Tuscaloosa, each had been the starter on a national championship team.
For Hurts and Tagovailoa, it was the expected outcome for two highly touted recruits coming out of high school.
For Jones, who had to beat out freshman Bryce Young for the starting job last season on his way to becoming the school’s all-time singleseason passing leader and leading Alabama to an undefeated record, it was another example of him exceeding outsiders’ expectations.
Now as Jones and Tagovailoa prepare to matchup for the first time as NFL starters on Sunday, it has cast a new spotlight on
the former teammates in their new roles as key pieces of franchises hoping to dethrone the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East.
“Looking back on it, it was pretty cool. We were all pretty close. We were there to help each other,” Jones said. “I guess that’s all in the past and we’re all doing our own thing now.”
In Jones’ case, that included beating 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton for the Patriots’ starting job. Bill Belichick’s decision to cut Newton at the end of training camp came as a shock to many around the league. Jones’ teammates said he enters his first start having won the respect of New England’s locker room with poise and confidence rarely displayed by a rookie.
“I tell him he’s not a rookie. This is his offense and to lead it as such,” Patriots offensive lineman Trent Brown said. “We go as he goes.”
Jones will become the first Patriots rookie quarterback to start the season opener since Drew Bledsoe in 1993.