Nick Saban explains what he’s seen in true freshman Jaylen Waddle to hand the WR punt return responsibilities
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It takes guts to put a true freshman out there as a team’s punt return. Nick Saban is no stranger to making bold decisions when it comes to his Alabama football program but based on his recent comments on true freshman Jaylen Waddle, the decision to give the Houston native the team’s punt return duties was an easy one.
During his Wednesday media availability, Saban was asked about Waddle returning punts for Alabama in the true freshman’s first game of his college career. According to the Crimson Tide coach, the decision was made after careful analysis of training camp results.
“Well, he caught the ball efficiently and effectively and we evaluate those things every day when we do punt and punt return,” Saban said. “I thought he’d do as good a job – he had better stats, catching the ball, making good decisions and judgments as anyone else on our team.
“I’m a little different, I thought if we put him back there and he struggled, we could always go back to Trevon Diggs, who is really good at getting the ball fielded — and is a really good returner. Probably not as explosive as Jalen but we wanted to give an opportunity, rather than put the other guy in and he goes in and something goes wrong. We just felt good about him and he obviously did a good job in the game.”
Waddle fielded four punts in the game and had 80 yards total in returns. That wasn’t his only contribution against Louisville as Waddle also caught three passes for 66 yards, which included a great catch on a ball just slightly overthrown by Tua Tagovailoa. Waddle was forced to make a full extension while running full speed but still managed to come down with the ball.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
