Alabama Football: Dan Mullen disrespects Mac Jones ahead of SECCG
By Dakota Cox
Dan Mullen took a shot at Alabama football’s Mac Jones.
We are used to comments before big games, but Dan Mullen took a shot at Alabama football‘s starting quarterback. During a press conference, Mullen said many things about Mac Jones.
Dan Mullen on Mac Jones: "He's a guy that has had a great year, very similar to Kyle (Trask). He does a great job managing their offense, distributing the ball to all the different playmakers, getting them in the right place at the right time, taking what the defense gives him."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) December 13, 2020
This does not sound like an insult at first, but it is a very subtle jab at Jones. Although it is technically true, it is an insult to say that Jones manages the offense. Saying that a quarterback is a game manager is one of the worst things you can say. it essentially implies that they are not the reason why the offense is succeeding.
That could not be further from the truth. While Jones will take what the defense gives him, he is more than capable of dominating when he needs to. He has a strong arm, and he is incredibly accurate. His statistics might not jump off of the page, but that is because Alabama also has the best running back in college football.
We’ve seen this knock on Jones before. Before the Iron Bowl, Bo Nix essentially called Mac Jones a game manager. Jones responded with 5 touchdowns against the Auburn Tigers.
While this quote from the Florida Gators’ head coach stings, it is not the only thing he said. If you’ll notice, he said that Jones was similar to Kyle Trask. While this sounds nice, it is a backhanded compliment. When you are similar to something good, the implication is that you are still worse. People don’t say that Patrick Mahomes is similar to anyone, but we love to compare people to Mahomes.
Mullen is naturally going to believe that Trask is better than Mac Jones. However, Alabama football fans have seen what Jones can do all season. While Trask has amazing stats, he failed to carry the offense against the struggling LSU Tigers. His three turnovers were partially why Florida lost that game. It didn’t help that Trask failed to lead a touchdown drive on Florida’s final five drives of the game.
Next. Alabama's report card vs. Arkansas. dark
Mac Jones will prove to Dan Mullen that he is more than a game manager in the SEC Championship game. If he plays well enough, he will need to start prepping his Heisman acceptance speech. After all, we’ve been saying that the Heisman will be decided by the SEC Championship game for over a month.