Alabama QB Mac Jones is off to a fantastic start this season, and has even drawn some talk among Heisman Trophy contenders. But first, he had to wait his turn at Alabama, and settle into the starting role.

Now he’s leading a high-flying offense that shows no signs of being slowed down anytime soon. How did he reach this point? Coach Nick Saban shared his thoughts on Jones’ development on the SEC coaches media teleconference.

“We’ve obviously always had a tremendous amount of respect for Mac and how he viewed his development as a player,” Saban said.

Saban said Jones was never discouraged, never talked about leaving, but had to earn a spot there. Saban said development is something that all players, at all levels, need to focus on.

Saban admitted that Jones is exceeding his expectations.
“We had a lot of confidence in Mac, we thought it could play well,” Saban said. “Our challenge is to always keep them in the right place where he makes good choices and decisions and you know he’s done that he’s done a really good job of that. So, you know, we’ve got some pretty good go-to guys and to keep them involved in the offense and give them the ball is a really important part of it in that Mac has done a really good job of that he’s done a good job of executing the offerings, managing things, doing the things that we need him to do to play winning football, so we’re happy with that.”