It would be unfair to ask any player to step into the lineup in Tuscaloosa and single-handedly replace Tua Tagovailoa but Mac Jones has enough weapons to work with at Alabama that the expectation is the Crimson Tide offense won’t take a massive step backward.

While Jones’ stats from last season were impressive after he replaced an injured Tagovailoa in the lineup, he also made some big mistakes in the Iron Bowl that cost Alabama a win in that game.

During a recent radio appearance on “The Zach Gelb Show,” Jones opened up on the fact that he learned a lot this offseason from going back and studying tape from his time on the field last season.

“Last year was definitely an interesting year. Looking back on it, there’s a bunch of teachable moments for everybody,” Jones said on the show. “We’re moving forward to this next season but they are still learning moments on the film. Just looking back from a leadership standpoint, how we can improve. And I think we’ve done a great job, our Leadership Committee on the team has done a great job, adjusting and fixing the things that we need to fix.

“Like I said, you can look back and say we didn’t do this, we didn’t do that, but we are trying to find what’s best for this team, and the ways that we can win. Obviously, last year didn’t end the way we wanted it to, we play for national championships at Alabama. That’s our goal this year and we’re going to get back there, hopefully.”

That’s exactly what Alabama fans want to hear as the expectation in Tuscaloosa remains national championship or bust.

To get there, Jones will have to improve upon his performances from last season, but he’s displayed enough on the field to lead fans to believe he can get it done.

When asked to share what he worked on to improve his game last season, here’s what the Alabama quarterback had to say.

“This offseason was a little different, obviously like we were talking about, but just being back home, working with quarterback coaches, just working on everyday things,” Jones added. “Like I would go into full pads, just to make sure I was getting real reps back home, I wasn’t just doing it in my shorts. Just making sure that I was ready to go, whenever the time was going to come.

“I think all the guys did that, they were back home working with their trainers. Once we got back on campus, it kind of became normal again where we could go to the facility and workout together. But other than that, just gaining weight. I went up to 218 pounds, so it’s good weight too, some people might call me a little chubby. But I feel like it’s good weight. Just adding that weight makes me feel more confident, taking bigger hits and things like that.”