Alabama Football: What should Mac Jones do if there’s no season?

Alabama football will have a 2021 QB battle.

Mac Jones appears to be set to win the starting quarterback job for Alabama football. With limited workouts and practices, having chemistry will be valuable for the offense. Although Mac did not start the entire season, he has been throwing passes to Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith for a few years now.

However, the entire equation shifts if there is no football season. Mac Jones will still have two years of eligibility, but Bryce Young won’t want to wait for two or three years with the Crimson Tide. This is forward thinking, but there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle.

Alabama football has to consider a lot of things.

If there is no 2020 season, then Alabama will have to put a lot of thought into how they should approach this situation. The same things will be true in 2021. Mac will have the leadership and experience. However, you can’t expect Bryce Young to sit for two years. The 2021 season will almost definitely include Young as the team’s starting quarterback.

That limits what Mac Jones can do. Maybe he could prove himself in 2020, but what if there’s no season? He would really have three options. He could stay and compete again for the starting job, transfer with two years of eligibility, or declare for the 2021 NFL Draft. Let’s evaluate these options.

The 2021 NFL Draft option does not seem to be a great choice. Mac Jones has plenty of potential, but his film isn’t good enough quite yet to get him drafted in the first three rounds. Even with no season, he would only benefit from this if the quarterback class was incredibly weak. He could work out on his own, but I doubt that this would be enough.

If Mac Jones decides to stay in college, he could transfer or stay with the Crimson Tide. Competing isn’t a terrible option, but I personally wouldn’t like his odds. He is already an Alabama graduate, so he could transfer and play for two seasons. Many Power 5 schools would be interested in him, so this is a viable choice.

Personally, I would wait before making a decision. I would at least stay with the Crimson Tide through the fall semester. Transferring now wouldn’t help anyone. At that point, Mac would have an open conversation with Nick Saban and the Alabama football coaching staff. He might simply be told that he won’t win the starting job, which would make his decision easier. If he still has a reason to believe that he can beat Bryce Young, then he can risk it and stay.

Mac Jones has a bright future, but a lot of it rides on the 2020 season. If there is no football in the fall, then it might be in his best interests to transfer. Either way, the Crimson Tide will support his decision.