ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Jones still valuable despite low numbers

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy finished a television interview feeling a little hot — and it wasn’t because of the lights.

“It seems like every interview I do, it’s somebody asking me, ‘Why isn’t Julio getting more involved?’” McElroy said Monday before practice. “Just because Julio’s not catching balls doesn’t mean he’s not involved. He’s very involved.”

Julio, of course, is Julio Jones, the Crimson Tide’s dynamic wide receiver who was a Freshman All-American last season.

Jones caught 58 passes for 924 yards and four touchdowns last season. This year, he is attracting double coverage nearly every play and his numbers are down.

The preseason All-American missed one full game and most of another with a bruised kneecap. In the four games in which he has played, Jones has nine catches for 133 yards and a 50-yard touchdown pass from McElroy, which came on a trick play out of the Wildcat formation.

Put another way, last year Jones accounted for 28.7 percent of Alabama’s completions and 38.6 percent of its receiving yardage. This season, he has 10.3 percent of the Tide’s completions and 11.3 percent of its receiving yards.

McElroy said Jones is contributing far more to the attack than those numbers.

“Four eyes are on him every time we snap the ball — that’s two from the safety and two from a corner. He makes a difference whether he catches the ball or not,” McElroy said.

Darius Hanks said he benefitted from Jones’ presence on both of his catches against Kentucky. Hanks caught a 7-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and caught a big 27-yard strike on a wheel route up the sideline.

Both times, Jones drew double coverage.

“They doubled Julio and I became wide open,” Hanks said. “We’re all brothers out there. We look out for each other. If Julio gets doubled, more balls for me.”

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks noticed the Tide’s improved balance on offense.

“They do a really good job of spreading the ball around so you can’t really focus on a particular guy — although if you don’t focus on Jones, you’re kind of crazy,” Brooks said. “He can gash you in a hurry with his outstanding size and talent.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked about Jones’ drop in production.

“It’s a combination of several things,” Saban said. “I think, first of all, the guy has been a little bit hurt. ... He’s worked hard to try and get back to where he was. I do think he gets a significant amount of attention in the game and I think that creates opportunities for other people, which really without developing statistics, you are doing a lot to help your team win.
“I also think that we continue to try and get him involved in what we can do. He has been on top of people and we haven’t gotten him the ball. I think if he continues to do the things he is doing his time’s going to come.”

Of course, being a decoy isn’t nearly as much fun as making catches. Jones appeared frustrated during the Kentucky game, either by all the attention from the Wildcats or after a missed opportunity where McElroy didn’t see him get open.

“People continue to question, ‘Why can’t you get the ball to Julio? Why can’t you put it in his hands? He’s such a great player for you,’” McElroy said. “Yeah, he is. He’s a great player, and that’s why we can’t get it in his hands sometimes.”

McElroy said he’s going to continue throwing to open receivers.

“We’re very fortunate, because in years past we haven’t always a lot of solid wide receiver depth,” the quarterback noted. “But now we do. We’ve got great players that don’t even start every Saturday.”

Tight end Colin Peek and running back Mark Ingram lead Alabama with 14 receptions. Hanks and Jones both have nine catches and Marquis Maze and Mike McCoy both have eight receptions each. In fact, 14 players have caught a total of 87 passes this season.

McElroy said that depth and balance is a big reason the offense has been so successful this season.

The quarterback also noted the one time he forced the ball in Julio’s direction was the first half of the season opener against Virginia Tech.

“That’s something we’re not going to do from here on out,” McElroy said flatly. “Obviously, we were unsuccessful in the first half. What were we, 2-for-12 to start? Ten of those were targeting at Julio or something like that? You can’t have that. That’s the way we started against Virginia Tech.

“I’ve learned my lesson already not to force the ball. That’s not the way this offense is going to be played.”

He said he’d love to see an opponent crazy enough to play Jones one-on-one.

“Julio is so unselfish and he understands that I’m going to get him the ball when I can, when I want to get him the ball, the best I know how,” McElroy said. “But when my reads take me elsewhere, I’m not going to force it.”