Julio Jones will go down in history as one of the best wide receivers to ever don an Alabama uniform. But if it wasn't for his high school coach, he might have held that accolade as a USC Trojan, instead.

NBC's Rob Buska, via the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, relayed a story he once heard from former Trojans coach Pete Carroll, who said Foley High School coach Todd Watson once locked Jones in the school to keep Carroll from meeting with the star receiver.

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Jones, of course, was the most sought-after wide receiver in the 2008 recruiting cycle, the top recruit in the state of Alabama and the No. 3 overall recruit, via 247Sports. Here's Carroll's recollection of the humorous incident, via Buska:

"We loved Julio so much, and he went to his high school in the middle of nowhere, in the sticks there in Alabama. We flew in to see him, and once we got out of the car, at the football field, during the middle of practice, coach saw me and knew who I was. He took Jones off the field, ran him inside, got the principal and the athletic director, and locked the school."

Carroll said Watson wouldn't let him in the school.

"Got Nick Saban at Alabama on the phone right away, and said, ‘Hey, Pete Carroll’s outside.’ Next thing you know, there’s your full scholarship right there," Carroll said.

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Jones ended up becoming a part of Alabama's No. 2-ranked recruiting class that year — which included the likes of Marcell Dareus, Dont'a Hightower, Mark Ingram, Barrett Jones, Mark Barron and Courtney Upshaw. His class spearheaded the Tide's first championship under Saban in 2009 and helped start one of the most dominant runs in college football history. He later became a first-round pick for the Falcons and now is one of the best receivers in the league.

Carroll, meanwhile, lasted two more years at USC before he took off to coach the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. In hindsight, he might have stayed if he'd ended up wooing the all-world receiver to USC.

Funny how the course of college football can change with one little locked door.