Alabama football: Welcome to the national spotlight, Jaylen Waddle

Every year, Alabama has one or two (sometimes more) true freshmen who emerge from the pack and show exactly why they were so highly sought after in recruiting. Sometimes it takes half a season for them to get comfortable and make an impact. Other times, as is the case with Jaylen Waddle, it happens right away.

Waddle was absolutely fantastic Saturday night in the Week 1 dismantling of Louisville, a game the Tide won 51-14. The freshman from Bellaire, Texas, caught 3 passes for 66 yards, including a beautiful 49-yard bomb from Tua Tagovailoa early in the second quarter that put the Tide near the goal line preceding their third score of the night.

Where he really stood out, however, was on special teams, where he returned 4 punts for 80 yards with a long of 31. And that’s not counting the punt return he took to the house that was called back due to a penalty.

Jaylen Waddle #TheRealDeal @D1__JW #BamavsLouisville #Abc #Espn pic.twitter.com/mijRE1oyH9

— InsideBamaRecruiting Alabama Football (@RTRnews) September 2, 2018

On a team loaded with 5-stars and future NFL stars, arguably none looked more athletic, dynamic and explosive than Waddle.

Coming out of fall camp, there was a lot of chatter that one freshman who could emerge and make an early impact for the Tide was Waddle. He was considered a 4-star prospect by 247sports, ranked as the 64^th-best player nationally and the ninth-ranked WR, but he was entering a receiving corps that was already loaded with young talent. Super sophomores like Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith and Henry Ruggs were expected to get the majority of snaps after each flashed game-breaking potential during the Tide’s national title run a year ago.

However, the reason so many 5-stars continue to sign with Alabama, despite knowing there are 5-stars in front of them, is that Alabama is going to play the best player, no matter their age or experience.

Waddle showed exactly why he deserved to get the playing time that he did. There may not be a faster player on a team that’s already remarkably fast. There’s certainly no one on the team with his lateral quickness or foot speed. He’s remarkably light on his feet, showing tremendous balance and body control, with the ability to stop on a dime and explode out of his cuts. He’s an electrifying player who can get separation both with his straight-line speed and his lateral quickness.

He’s going to be a lethal return man this year, assuming teams continue to kick to him. I wouldn’t be surprised if teams start to wise up and try to avoid him altogether, because he’s a threat to score every time the ball is in his hands. If teams do kick to him this year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a half-dozen returns taken back for TDs.

I also expect the Tide to try to involve him even more on offense moving forward. Considering his speed and ability to separate and Tagovailoa’s elite arm strength and very good accuracy on deep balls, the two seem like an ideal pairing. Don’t be surprised if it’s not just flag, post and fly routes, either. He’ll face a lot of off-man coverages this year, so flat and slant routes will give him plenty of room to run. Comebacks and curls will be open, too. Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley has a hell of a weapon at his disposal, so it’s going to be interesting to see the number of ways he can use Waddle and get him the ball in space and let him do his thing.

His sheer presence could also mean more single-man coverages for other receivers, too. He’s almost always going to require safety help over the top, which will inevitably open things up for Jeudy, Smith or Ruggs.

The bottom line is that the Tide have found an electrifying weapon. For a team that has no shortage of weapons as is, they add yet another game-breaker to their arsenal.

Overall, Alabama fans should feel really good not only about the play of Waddle, but the offense as a whole. The offense on Saturday night looked utterly unstoppable with Tagovailoa under center. The rushing attack was strong as it always has been, but in recent years the offense has really struggled to balance out with an effective passing attack. Those days are over. You can’t load the box to just stop the run. You can’t drop everyone back into coverage and try to stop the pass, either.

Alabama is on a collision course for another national title, and Jaylen Waddle looks like he’ll be a big factor in that quest.

Rick Stavig

Rick Stavig, who played at Ole Miss and Shippensburg University, is the owner of SE Scouting. A veteran scout, he specializes in the NFL Draft and recruiting coverage.