The question has loomed over Alabama’s team since the beginning of 2023, and it was still unanswered five games into the season. Who is the Crimson Tide’s No. 1 wide receiver, and when would that person emerge?
Saturday at Texas A&M felt like as good a time as any with expected trouble in the run game against the Aggies’ defensive front. Senior Jermaine Burton felt like he and his fellow receivers were due and expressed it before the game.
“I felt it,” Burton said. “I was telling (his teammates) inside the locker room that we need to come out and attack, (the Kyle Field crowd) wants to storm the field. I saw it was the third-largest attended game ever (108,101); it’s for a reason. A lot of people wanted to see us lose, and I didn’t want that to happen.”
There was extra motivation for Burton, who missed most of last week’s game against Mississippi State because of a right foot injury in a game during which quarterback Jalen Milroe threw 12 passes. On Alabama’s fifth offensive play on Saturday, Milroe fired a pass down the sideline, and 45 yards later, Burton was on the other end for the team’s first big play. Alabama kicked a field goal to tie the game at 3, and that was just the beginning of Burton’s big day.
Five of Milroe’s first six passes went Burton’s way. Milroe targeted Burton on 13 of his 33 passing attempts for 197 total yards, and seven completions went for 15-plus yards. The two biggest completions, on a pair of third-and-long situations in the third quarter, accounted for the tying and go-ahead touchdowns. On a day when Alabama recorded 23 rushing yards, Burton consistently kept the offense afloat with timely, big plays.
THROWING 🎯
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/e5ZC0Fvt7E
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 7, 2023
“We’ve always had faith, trust and confidence in (Burton),” coach Nick Saban said. “He’s a big-play player. We knew (Texas A&M) had a really good front and we would struggle with their front, but we felt like if we could protect and get some time, we could make some plays down the field, and I think we did that effectively.”
It’s the performance fans have been waiting for all season, and for Burton specifically, it was a moment that felt like it was more than a year in the making. The expectations for Burton were high in 2022 after he transferred from Georgia after the 2021 season. The Crimson Tide were losing top weapons, John Metchie III and Jameson Williams, and Burton was expected to help fill that void. The result last fall was disappointing: 677 yards, the lowest by a leading Alabama receiver since 2011 and a postgame incident following a loss to Tennessee that overshadowed his play.
A difficult season individually and as a team forced Burton to reflect. In a postseason meeting with wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins, Burton initiated the idea to return for his senior season in 2023. The reasoning wasn’t related to personal statistics, but Burton felt like he needed to return for personal development.
“It wasn’t really talent or anything having to do with that,” Burton said. “I just really wanted to mature; I really wanted to mature into a leader.”
Burton essentially matched his season statistics (eight catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns) on Saturday with nine catches for 197 yards, tying a career-high, and two touchdowns. Burton’s 22.7 yards-per-catch average ranks first in the SEC after Saturday’s performance.
His chemistry with Milroe is growing, and the go-ahead touchdown is a prime example. Burton explained that Milroe could have thrown the ball to him right out of his break, but he likely would’ve been tackled at that angle. In a split-second moment, the two locked eyes and understood it would be best for Burton to keep running. Milroe hit Burton in the second window, and Burton split two defenders on his way to the end zone.
LET THEM EAT!! 🍽️
Milroe ➡️ Burton📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/D3IKJl7cNr
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 7, 2023
In deep ball passing situations, Milroe has been one of the most successful aspects of Alabama’s offense, and Burton has emerged as the top option on those plays. Chemistry helps on shorter to intermediate passes, but trust enables the two to connect for explosive plays downfield.
“That’s all I tell him — just throw it,” Burton said. “Screw a landmark that you’re trying to throw to, just put it down there next to me and let me adjust to it.”
But within Burton’s career day lies an important context in his maturation as a potential No. 1 receiver and a leader — it’s still evolving. He was flagged for a false start on the offense’s first play from scrimmage, and he had a fumble in the fourth quarter that could have shifted the game but was negated by a blocked field goal by the Tide. His talent and competitive edge are there, but there are moments when his competitiveness overtakes him, and it costs the team.
Early in the second quarter, Milroe took a sack deep in Alabama territory, and Burton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play. It backed Alabama’s punt unit to the edge of its own end zone, and Texas A&M returned the ensuing punt 46 yards and scored a touchdown on the play after.
“That’s not me as a player,” Burton said. “There’s certain moments where I feel blanked out, and I feel aggressive and competitive, but I have to do a better job of controlling myself.”
Burton’s antics garnered a talking-to on the sideline from Saban.
“We don’t need it; it doesn’t help the team or you,” Burton said of Saban’s message to him. “I had to lock in and realize that I had to keep my composure.”
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Burton’s heightened level of self-awareness will serve him well as the season progresses, and Alabama will need him to continue elevating on and off the field to reach its goals. The team is far from a finished product but controls its destiny in the SEC, and Burton will be a key piece for the remainder of the season.
As for the definitive WR1 label, Burton said he’s more focused on doing what’s best for the position group. Burton got some help Saturday as sophomore Isaiah Bond recorded seven catches for 96 yards, including a 52-yard score. The wide receivers are still growing into form at the midseason mark, and Burton’s primed to ascend as the No. 1 option. It’s a role that many expected out of him, and it appears he’s prepared to take it.
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“I think the big thing we’ve tried to emphasize with all of our players — and with Jermaine as well,” Saban said. “Who you are off the field sort of carries over into who you are on the field. If you can be responsible and accountable to do things off the field — whether it’s go to class, see a tutor, whatever it is — then that’s going to create the right habits for you to do the right thing on the field. You don’t have discipline when you go on the field. You get it in your life when you start getting up in the morning and start making choices and decisions about what you’re going to do and what you’re not going to do.
“And that’s something that he’s learned to understand, and I think that has carried over off the field as well as on the field. I think that’ll help him be more successful in whatever his challenges are in the future because he could have a really good career if he could continue to progress in that area.”
(Phot0: Ken Murray / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)