Miles
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- Mar 18, 2019
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Jeudy followed Ridley to Alabama, though his decision was less about replicating Ridley's path as it was to follow a "gut feeling," Jeudy says. Jeudy did appreciate having a familiar face in the Crimson Tide locker room, though, and he eventually surpassed Ridley in several statistical categories, including career receiving touchdowns and single-season receiving yards.
"He saw an opportunity," Ridley says. "He wanted to win. Amari Cooper, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley — he wanted to be one of the great Alabama receivers, which he is now. First-round draft pick, and he won a [championship]. He's doing pretty good for himself."
As Jeudy was busy winning the 2018 Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best receiver, Ridley was making waves as an NFL rookie. He caught 10 touchdowns as a first-year player for the Falcons and again set a lofty standard for Jeudy to meet.
"He just showed me that I could do the same thing," Jeudy says of Ridley's rookie year. "When we were in college, he did what he did. Then when I came into college, I followed in his footsteps and did what he did. So seeing him do that his rookie year, I felt like i could do the same thing going in. That had a big influence on me."
The two Alabama products were in close communication ahead of this year's NFL Draft and worked out together on several occasions. Ridley says Jeudy should've been picked higher than No. 15 — the Broncos are certainly glad he wasn't — but admits it's amazing for another player from South Florida to find that level of success.
"I'm very, very proud of him," Ridley says. "He deserves everything that he got."
Jeudy and Ridley text nearly every day and talk on the phone often, which allows Jeudy to ask questions about the league and for Ridley to check in on Jeudy, whom he treats as if he's his own little brother. Ridley has had to remind Jeudy that the NFL is "a little different" than Alabama, where the two receivers were used to winning nearly every game. Ridley says he's told Jeudy to "just keep ballin', and things are going to get better." Jeudy, who also considers Ridley to be like family, certainly did so in Week 8.
Jeudy posted a career high 73 receiving yards and was targeted a team-high 10 times in a win over the Chargers. Jeudy now has 23 catches for 359 yards and a touchdown on the season.
"He doesn't have a choice," Ridley says. "He's from Florida. He has people watching him. There's an expectation. He has to play good. I know he knows that, and that's what he lives by."
Jeudy will aim to post his best game yet in Atlanta as he reunites with both Ridley and former 'Bama standout Julio Jones. Ridley is questionable to play with an ankle injury, but if he plays, it's quite feasible the top three receivers in the game could all be former members of the Crimson Tide.
"I wish them the best," Jeudy says. "I wish they have 300 yards receiving and five touchdowns — but with a loss."
No matter the result, Sunday's game will be the latest step in a lifetime of parallels for Ridley and Jeudy. And it will also be the latest time that Ridley will swell with pride at what Jeudy has accomplished.
"He was a guy that was always with us, always with me," Ridley says. "To see him make it, it feels good. We want all the guys we hang out with to make it. He did it. He didn't just let his time pass and let his opportunity fly by.
"He took advantage of his opportunity."