Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama Football News: Draft Scout Player News

Draft Scout College Football Player News

04/12/21 - WR Jalen Tolbert, rSr/2022, South Alabama, (DS#4 WR)

Jalen Tolbert gave serious thought to making his breakout 2020 season his last one at South Alabama. The redshirt junior wide receiver was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference pick last fall, catching 64 passes for 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Tolbert was one of just 11 players in the country to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark during the COVID-shortened season, and did so in only 11 games for a 4-7 Jaguars team. So it wasn't just lip service when Tolbert announced Jan. 8 he would return for a fifth season at his hometown school, rather than enter the NFL draft. The former McGill-Toolen star has set several goals for himself in 2021, the Jaguars' first season under head coach Kane Wommack and his staff, including offensive coordinator Major Applewhite.

"Honestly, I wanted to become a better leader on and off the field before I got to (the NFL) level," Tolbert said. "And I wanted to improve my football smarts, reading coverages more and doing little things that could benefit me at the next level game-wise. So that played a part, and then the opportunity to work with coach Applewhite and coach Wommack was something that I would have chosen to do anyway. So I decided to come back. "And then the last deal was, I would love to play in the Senior Bowl. I'm from here, and I've grown up going to it. So that's what the goal has always been in my mind." - Birmingham News

(DS#4 WR) rSr/2022