Guess ole Alshon Jeffery isn’t pumping gas in rural South Carolina as a certain former Tennessee head coach told him.

This article won’t take too long. I think a lot of people know how awesome Alshon was at South Carolina and what he has done in the NFL so far. The guy is just a stud. Plain and simple.

I think what did separate him from other wide receivers is his ball skills.

I’ll never forget seeing him for the first time during summer workouts. He came in and didn’t look in shape or like a receiver at all. I was like “how in the world did this guy get recruited by everyone?”

Quarterback Zac Brindise was in on Alshon’s first play that day. I remember coach saying to throw it deep to Alshon no matter what. So, as Alshon ran a “9” route, he was double teamed. Zac threw it anyway, and lo and behold, Alshon went up over two defenders and plucked it out of the sky. I looked at the other QBs and said I guess that’s why he was so highly recruited.

After that summer, Alshon really busted his ass to get in college football shape. I think people have this misconception that he wasn’t a hard worker and just was a good player. The guy was very savvy on the field and worked his ass off to get, and stay, in shape.

Alshon was always the first receiver in the meeting rooms and the first to answer questions about a defensive coverage and how the route would change. As a quarterback, when you see and hear a guy answer questions like yourself, you feel pretty damn confident.

There was no doubt that Alshon was my favorite target, and the favorite target of any other quarterback with which he’s played. Quarterbacks and receivers share a special bond. There would be times in college when I would take the snap and know right off the bat that no matter what the coverage was, I was throwing to him. A lot of that was because I trusted him, and another reason is because our coaches developed plays for him to get open.

When you have a player of Alshon’s caliber, you feed him the ball as often as possible.

The SEC is filled with unbelievably talented wideouts, but Alshon was definitely on the top of my list. I am biased, but dammit, that kid could play some football.

Now NFL defensive backs are finding that out.