Alabama Football Swagger: Is Calvin Ridley the next Julio Jones?
Alabama football saw WR Calvin Ridley surpass Julio Jones in the college record books. Does that translate into a surpassing NFL career, too?
As sacrilegious as it may seem, the conversation was destined to happen.
Calvin Ridley, the junior wide receiver, has been an absolute star for the Alabama Crimson Tide. This season, Ridley has 52 receptions for 858 yards and three touchdowns. He has 213 career receptions for 2 672 total yards and 17 touchdowns.
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As impressive as that sounds, it’s even more impressive when one realizes that those career numbers actually have made history.
With yesterday’s performance against the Mercer Bears, Ridley passes one of the National Football League’s best wide receivers when he used to play for Alabama football:
Calvin Ridley just passed Julio Jones for 3rd place on Alabama's list of career receiving yards. Now has 2,672 yards to Julio's 2,653.
— Ben Jones (@BW_Jones) November 18, 2017
Ridley was already close to making history before he went into the game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Carving the Bears for 103 yards and a touchdown on just three receptions made Thanksgiving come early for Ridley and all of the Crimson Tide fans watching.
However, what does that historic milestone actually mean?
Sports Illustrated has the great Julio Jones on the cover of the current edition of their illustrious magazine, on their ‘Best’ edition which profiles all of the best players, teams, and moments of the past year. Looking at the cover, one can feel intimidated just by looking into Jones’ eyes:
After Jones looks into one’s soul, does anyone want to compare Ridley to the living legend?
Between 2008-2010, Jones finished his junior year, his final year in college, with 179 receptions and 15 yards in the air. Those numbers calculates to earning 14.8 yards per catch.
To put those numbers into perspective, Ridley’s accomplishments have averaged only 12.5 yards per catch.
Much of Jones’ dominance has to do with his body frame. Jones was listed at 6’4″ and 211 pounds. Now, playing for the Atlanta Falcons, Jones is even bigger at 220 pounds, which looks more like it has been added in muscle than in body fat, if there is any on him. Once Jones catches the ball, he was and still is a very hard man to bring down. He can usually outmuscle any cornerback brave enough to cover him, gaining more yards in his wake.
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Ridley’s body frame is like comparing apples to peanuts. He is currently listed at 6’1″ and 190 pounds. Ridley’s strength actually comes from his elusiveness and speed, escaping a corner’s gaze to gain big yardage before being brought down.
While it is very hard to knock Ridley’s talent before he has a chance to prove himself in the NFL, it may be even harder to see him surpass Jones in a professional capacity. It will be surprising to find any NFL-level cornerback losing sight of Ridley, who will likely be the top or second wide receiver on a team who drafts him. While Jones has the speed and the power to relieve the pressure, Ridley may not be able to gain the same success with speed alone.
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Still, Alabama football fans should enjoy Ridley while he’s still with them, especially if his fabulous season equates to a berth in the national championship game.