Eagles Alma Maters: Has Alabama or Georgia Provided More?
PHILADELPHIA - It’s only anecdotal evidence but if the former Alabama players on the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster are examples of what Nick Saban produces for the entire NFL, the Crimson Tide coach deserves all the flowers he typically receives.
By now everyone understands the rare maturity and work ethic Jalen Hurts, who started at Alabama before finishing at Oklahoma, brings to the table as he has evolved into one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL en route to a franchise-record $255 million contract extension.
Typically when that kind of life-changing money is handed to such a young man there are obvious concerns over how it might affect them. With Hurts, owner Jeffrey Lurie barely batted an eye after cutting the check calling his quarterback “the most mature 24-year-old I’ve ever come across.”
Talk to Landon Dickerson for a few minutes and you might believe that the third-year player was struggling to keep his head about water, not the 332-pound pancake machine who often dominated opposing defensive linemen physically en route to making his first Pro Bowl in just his second season.
His own worst critic, Dickerson, who first matriculated at Florida State before developing into an All-American center under Saban, dispels the notion that he's arrived no matter how many outside voices may tell him exactly that.
"A lot,” Dickerson said when asked what he needs to work on this offseason despite his demonstrated success. “Pass protection. Run blocking. Stunts and games. Screens. Vision."
That sentiment is a gold mine for the Eagles' highly-regarded offensive line coach Jeff Stoutalnd who arrived in Philadelphia in 2013 from you guessed it, Alabama.
“I still feel like I just got here,” said Dickerson.
Then you have DeVonta Smith, the 170-pound “Skinny Batman” who won the Heisman Trophy for Saban in Tuscaloosa and then hit the ground running for the Eagles, setting a rookie franchise record for receiving yards and following that up with a team record for receptions by a wideout in his second season with 95.
Entering Year 3 of his career, Smith has already snuck in as a part of the NFL Network’s annual top 100 NFL players at No. 100. The “honor” was met in typical Alabama fashion when Smith was asked about it after practice on Friday.
“I mean, it's a blessing to be a part of this, but I mean, ultimately, I'm here to play football, just keep doing things I'm doing,” Smith said. “Where I land is where I land."
Smith is a lot like Hurts when it comes to focus with his only obvious vice being video games.
"I didn't do much,” Smith said when asked about his offseason. “Just work out. You know, it came around kind of fast. ... Kinda get your body back up to speed. Things like that, make sure you're healthy so it was really just a lot of lifting weights and recovery and things like that."
Smith is also adept at avoiding the Saban-coined “rat poison.”
"There's nothing we can do about that now,” Smith said Friday when asked about the heartbreaker Super Bowl LVII loss to Kansas City back in February. “We out here, new season, training camp, trying to get better. Thinking about that does nothing for you."
Even second-year cornerback Josh Jobe, who went undrafted, stunned former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon with his directness in an attempt to become a better football player.
“Typically rookies maybe don’t have the confidence to ask questions,” Gannon told SI.com’s Eagles Today. "Josh told me he wasn’t comfortable with a certain technique and I said ‘Great, here’s what we are trying to accomplish (in this coverage). What are you comfortable with that will help us get done what we want to get done?”
It’s not an overreach to say that was one of the first interactions Gannon, now the head coach in Arizona, had with Jobe that put the unheralded rookie on the former Eagles defensive coordinator’s radar.
Entering year 2, Jobe had developed into one of Philadelphia’s top special teams players and a threat to be the top backup on the outside behind star cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry.
Another Alabama undrafted rookie cornerback, Eli Ricks, hopes to follow in the footsteps of Jobe's path this summer.
When it comes to the SEC-to-Philadelphia pipeline, Georgia is on the mind of most Eagles fans after the organization loaded up with former Bulldogs over the past two draft cycles. But it’s Alabama that remains the standard for the team's next round of culture-setters.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
