Alabama Football: 5 biggest surprises from Tide’s 2019 season
By Phil Poling
4. Wide receivers’ dominance
Two 1,000-yard receivers. Five players with six or more receiving touchdowns. What more could you ask of a group of receivers? It helps having a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback, but this group dominated regardless of who was under center.
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Jerry Jeudy was the No. 1 wide receiver — on the Tide roster and in many 2020 NFL mock drafts — and for good reason. He amassed 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns on a team-high 77 catches as defenses focused on the junior from Deerfield Beach.
Junior Devonta Smith nearly doubled his production from a season ago, posting 68 catches for a team-leading 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns. His big-play ability helped steal the sole focus from Jeudy, but the extra attention still wasn’t enough to slow him down.
Another junior, Henry Ruggs, posted near-identical numbers from a season ago while still improving in every aspect. He totaled 40 receptions for 746 yards and seven touchdowns, while also owning the team’s longest rush of the year (75 yards) and the second-longest reception (81 yards). His 18.7 yards per catch average was the highest on the team, giving the Tide an unmatched trio of players at the wide receiver position.
Running back Najee Harris and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle were also large components of Alabama’s passing attack, combining for 60 receptions, 864 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Not all of these performances are individual surprises, but for a group to post this kind of season collectively? That’s quite the accomplishment.