During his early days at Alabama, Mac Jones got the nickname John McEnroe from Nick Saban because he came from a tennis family, but also because of his attitude on the field.
Saban said he had a “tennis player’s mentality,” and that wasn’t a good thing.
“It was more like early on, just when I was younger on the scout team and stuff, I just remember (Saban) telling me he could tell how a play went based on my body language,” Jones said Monday on Merloni & Fauria. “We would have practice and he wouldn’t even be able to see maybe like what field I was on, but he would just see my body. He would be like, ‘Alright, that was a bad throw’ based on your body language. I think it was all about that and how it effects my teammates and I am still working in that area.
“I am very competitive and super passionate about football. And a lot of people on our team at Alabama were and a lot of the people here are, so I think there’s a way to do it and run off positively on people.”
Saban said on his radio show last week that this was the biggest hurdle in his development.
“That was probably Mac’s biggest hurdle to overcome as a player,” Saban said. “Being able to control his emotions. Especially to play the quarterback position. To not get so upset or frustrated when he threw a bad ball or made a bad read or whatever. And he did kind of have a tennis player’s mentality. It was: Do you understand how you’re affecting everybody else?
“This is not an individual sport. You’re the leader of the team, and you’re kicking and fussing and acting like you messed up, and everyone else sees that. And that’s not a good thing for your position. You have to be the commander in chief. You have to be in control of what’s happening.”
There have been instances this year where Jones has shown a temper, including Thursday night against Atlanta when he was frustrated with his own play against Atlanta’s defense.
Jones and the Patriots will take on the Titans this Sunday.
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