Sports Illustrated - USA (2020-04)

(Antfer) #1
67

KJ
HAMLER
PENN STATE (5’ 9”, 180 POUNDS)

A diminutive playmaker,
Hamler accelerates to
top speed quickly and is
always a threat to get
behind a defense. He
drops a few too many
passes and played just
two seasons of college
football, but he came on
strong as a sophomore—
plus, you can’t teach his
kind of speed.

With a combination of
tight-end size and
wide-receiver athleticism,
Claypool showed that
he could develop into
a mega stud during a
breakout senior season
(1,037 yards, 13 TDs).
The drawback is that he
is more of a straight-line
mover and struggles to
create separation.

REAGOR
TCU (5’11”, 205 POUNDS)

He’s unpolished—too
many drops and too
rudimentary a route
tree—but Reagor’s talent
is undeniable, and he
produced despite shaky
QB play. He’s electric
with the ball in his hands,
both as a receiver and on
special teams (20.8 yards
per punt return and
two TDs last season).

COLORADO (6’1”, 225 POUNDS)

He enters the league as
more “gadget weapon”
than polished receiver, but
Shenault is a nightmare
for defenses in catch-
and-run situations. He’s
built like a big running
back with the strength
to match, and breakaway
speed makes him a threat
to score from just about
Xepn_\i\fek_\Ó\c[%

JEUDY IS PART OF WHAT MANY EVALUATORS ARE CONSIDERING AN

APRIL 2020

in frustration over his limited role in Alabama’s offense,
having caught only one pass, for eight yards. “I just said
to myself, ‘Don’t say a word. Just outwork everybody,’ ”
he says. “Coach [Nick Saban] came up to me, asked me
why I was being so quiet. I was like, ‘Nothing. I’m just
working.’ ” While curious to his teammates, the approach
brought immediate results. “He was at a different speed
in practice,” Ruggs says. “A speed that we’d never seen
before. He was just killing it.” That Saturday at Vanderbilt,
Jeudy recorded a season-high three receptions for 68 yards
and his first touchdown.
The only five-star wideout in the nation’s top-ranked
recruiting class of 2017, according to 247Sports, Jeudy
expected to immediately follow in the rapid-f ire footsteps
of ace Alabama route-runners like Julio Jones and Cooper,
whose highlights he had studied for years. And perhaps

mom a car, buy her a crib, tell her she gotta work no
more... that’s going to be one of the best feelings ever.
I can feel it coming.”

WHY WON’T JERRY SPEAK?
That was the curiosity buzzing through the Crimson Tide’s
receivers room in September 2017, a few days before the
fourth game of what would become a national champion-
ship season. A true freshman, Jeudy had already earned a
reputation for being reserved since arriving on campus.
“Mysterious,” cornerback Patrick Surtain says. “That’s the
word.” Even by those standards, though, this week was
different. “Everybody tried to talk to him,” remembers
receiver Henry Ruggs, another projected 2020 first-round
pick, “but he wouldn’t say nothing at all.”
The truth was that Jeudy had sworn himself to silence

DU
STI


N^ B


RAD


FO
RD/


GE
TTY


IM


AGE


S^ (S


HE
NAU


LT^
JR.


);^ M


ICH


AEL


HI
CKE


Y/G


ETT


Y^ I
MA
GES


(R
EAG


OR
);^


JOE

RO

BB
INS

/GE

TTY

IM

AGE

S^ (C

LAY

POO

L);
SC

OTT

TA
ETS

CH
/GE

TTY

IM
AGE

S^ (
HAM

LER

)
Free download pdf