Eleven seconds into Saturday’s Alabama game at Ole Miss, the home-standing Rebels had shocked the Alabama defense with a 75-yard Jordan Ta’amu pass to D.K. Metcalf and a 7-0 lead that had the majority of an over-capacity crowd in ecstasy.

Alabama didn’t panic. The defense settled in to allow only 58 more passing yards from the heretofore potent Rebels passing game and a total of only 173 more yards of total offense, the Rebels reaching Bama territory only five more times – only once beyond the 40 (to the Tide 38).

To say the Alabama offense answered is an understatement. It took the Tide only 59 seconds to answer, Damien Harris running 43 yards to cap a three-play 72-yard drive to tie it at 7-7.

After Ole Miss had the first two of the seven three-and-outs it would endure the remainder of the game, Bama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa continued his incredible third down efficiency with a touchdown pass longer even than the Ole Miss shocker. Jerry Jeudy exploded down the right side, took Tagovailoa’s pass in stride, and coasted into the end zone for a 79-yard touchdown that gave Alabama the lead for good in the 62-7 victory.

“They were trying to disguise their coverage,” Jeudy said of the play. “I guess they didn’t disguise it very well. I just ran straight and Tua made a good throw.”

Jerry Jeudy hauls in a touchdown reception vs. Ole Miss

Jeudy, a 6-1, 192-pound sophomore from Deerfield Beach, Fla., had given indications of his ability as one of the three freshmen backups in 2017. Playing primarily in the slot [Alabama receivers can play all three positions – split end, flanker, and slot – but tend to settle into one] behind Cam Sims, Jeudy had slightly better statistics as the understudy. Both had 14 receptions, Jeudy for 264 yards (18.9 yards per reception) and 2 touchdowns to Sims’s 174 yards (14.8 per) and 1 TD.

Henry Ruggs III was the first of those 2017 freshmen to blossom, scoring five touchdowns on his first five college catches and finishing with a team high six receiving TDs. DeVonta Smith closed out his first season with the most memorable, a touchdown catch for the ages that won the national championship game.

But Jeudy was catching eyes, notably when Alabama went to its bench for considerable playing time in a 59-0 win at Vanderbilt. He blistered the Commodores on a crossing route from Tagovailoa, turning it upfield and into the end zone. He was one of Alabama’s offensive players of the game after recording three catches for 68 yards.

Following Bama’s win over Ole Miss Saturday, Alabama Coach Nick Saban was asked about Jeudy.

“He made some big plays last year,” Saban said. “He was just a freshman and didn’t play all the time. But we think all three of them (Jeudy, Ruggs, and Smith) – we have four receivers (he includes true freshman Jaylen Waddle) that can make explosive plays, and we want to get them all involved.

“Jerry plays in the slot, so when people play man-to-man, he is really difficult to defend.

“He made some big plays (against Ole Miss).”

Saban said that Jeudy’s playing time last year was good experience. “There’s no substitute for experience,” he said. “Knowledge and experience are really, really important. No matter how much you try to practice things – how much you add noise in practice, how the quarterback’s going to manage the game, how the offense is going to respond on the road – you never know until they do it. Same thing with an individual player.

“Jerry is a hard worker. He’s a very gifted guy. He’s got good hands. He comes out of the break really well. He can beat man-to-man coverage.

“So he’s a pretty complete player for us.”

Three games into the season for the No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide, Jeudy is closing in on his 2017 statistics.

This year he has 11 catches for 287 yards, a 26.09 yards per catch average, and a team-leading six touchdowns.

In addition to his 79-yard TD against Ole Miss, he added a touchdown on a 22-yard pass from Jalen Hurts in the second quarter as the Tide built a 49-7 lead at intermission.

His six receiving touchdowns rank second nationally behind Hawaii’s John Ursua, who has seven TDs among his 32 receptions for 546 yards.

Jeudy’s 26.09 yards per reception ranks fifth nationally.

In Bama’s first two games this year, Jeudy had four receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns against Louisville and four catches with two TDs against Arkansas State.

Jeudy summed up the win over Ole Miss with compliments to all involved with the offense. “We did a good job of executing our plays, Coach Locksley (Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley) did a good job of calling the right plays, the O-line did a good job of blocking, and both did a good job of executing.”

As for soph quarterback Tagovailoa’s first road start, Jeudy said, “He had a very good game. He did everything right. He drove us down the field for a score on our first possession, which is a very good start. He just kept executing. And the receivers ran good routes.”

Jeudy had a non-touchdown play that was perhaps his most spectacular.

Trailing 28-7 midway through the second quarter, the Rebels decided to gamble on a fourth-and-seven at the Alabama 41. Ta’amu was sacked for a seven-yard loss by Anfernee Jennings and Christian Miller.

Two plays later, Tagovailoa hit Jeudy inside the Ole Miss 10. Jeudy, stopped to let the defender go by, then accelerated into the end zone for an apparent touchdown. However, on review it was determined he had stepped out at the Ole Miss 7 – delaying the touchdown run by Josh Jacobs by two plays.

“I haven’t seen it yet, but I want to,” Jeudy said. As for going out of bounds, “If they said I did, I did.”

Jeudy said that Ole Miss has “three great receivers,” but that wasn’t a motivating factor. “We just try to make plays,” he added, “and I think we have one of the best receiving corps in the nation.”