Matt Jones, coach of Mac Jones, and the Carolina Panthers of Alabama, are not sure if the Crimson Tide signalman will be able to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Saturday after failing to get through practice on Thursday.
After training at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Jones told reporters he ‘rolled my ankle. At first I was a little worried about my right leg, and now my left leg is a little hurt. ‘
However, Jones did not rule out playing in the all-star game on Saturday.
“There’s a chance,” Jones said. “I just have to see how I feel. I’m not going to go there if I’m not 100 percent. It’s not fair to my teammates not to be 100 percent and try to play and not play well, so I’m going to make the decision. But hopefully I can get treatment and see how it feels. ‘
Rhule, who leads the U.S. team with his Carolina coaching staff, said he “does not have a great idea” of what happened to Jones.
“He went there for a while and started limping at the end,” Rhule said, “so I just said, ‘Hey, why are you not going to see the coach? ‘The last thing I want to do is make the child knock. He got very heavy. Thought he had a good day, he just needed to heal himself. …
‘I’m not sure if it’s something from the national championship game or what. I do not think this is something that happened here, but I could be wrong. Kevin (King), our coach, manages our training equipment, let me know he was a bit limited. I thought he went as long as possible, so I’ll wait and see what Kevin says about the match. ”
The American team has two other backs – Kellen Mond of Texas A&M and Jamie Newman of Wake Forest. Newman joined Georgia last year as a graduate transfer, but he never played for the Bulldogs.
Rhule said he does not know which quarter will start the game if Jones does not play.
“I have not spoken to the coaches yet,” Rhule said after Thursday’s practice. “Even at all the positions, I just asked the coaches to keep turning who is playing just so everyone gets a feel. But no matter how we do it, we will meet tonight and tomorrow and iron out all that stuff. We beat a bunch of guys, so we’ll see who’s available for the game and play the guys. ‘
While Senior Bowl practices are being analyzed by NFL executives and scouts, Rhule said the game on Saturday was also an important evaluation tool.
“I think there are a lot of players out there who are very good in practice, really good in practice,” Rhule said. “In practice, everything is written. Sometimes you can go look at the text, see what the next play is and process it, I think. We did a two minute practice today and it’s as close as reacting in the game, so I think it’s important for all the players to play. …
“For me, I want to see as much as possible of everyone and what they do when the bullets fly and the game is real.”
Rhule likes a lot of what he saw of Jones this week.
“I was really impressed with who he is,” Rhule said. ‘I’m impressed with his character, his moxie and his swag. I mean, he has everything. You can see why his teammates follow him. He has an excellent way of working with other people. He was a very productive quarterback, and I think he showed a lot of things he can do this week. He’s really smart. He is accurate. He can move his feet. He can slip into the bag. When I get to know him, I can see why everyone amazes him and why he achieves the success he has had. ”
The 72nd annual Senior Bowl begins Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CST at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the South Alabama campus. NFL Network will broadcast the game on television.
FOR MORE FROM AL.COMNFL COVER, GO TO US NFL BLADSY
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ AMarkG1.