Isaiah Horton discusses role in Alabama’s offense

The play didn’t hold any high stakes over the weekend, but Alabama is betting on plenty more like it in tougher matchups moving forward.

Up 35-0 late in the second quarter against Louisiana-Monroe, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson capped off a perfect night by adding a final touchdown pass to his stat line. 

Facing a second-and-16 from the ULM 29-yard line, the redshirt junior quarterback scanned through his progressions to his left before scrambling to his right with the ball. Throwing on the run, Simpson chucked a pass downfield toward the near corner of the end zone, dropping the ball in perfectly to a wide-open Isaiah Horton, who spun past a defender at the 3-yard line for the touchdown. 

The play served as the exclamation point in Alabama’s 42-point half. It also foreshadowed a dangerous weapon for the Tide moving forward. 

Moments like that are exactly what Alabama was looking for when it plucked Horton from the transfer portal this offseason. 

“They wanted me to come here and be that big, explosive downfield threat,” Horton said on Tuesday during his first interview with the local media. “I can do intermediate routes, deep routes, whatever and just be a great teammate.” 

Horton transferred to Alabama from Miami, where he recorded 56 receptions for 616 yards and five touchdowns last season. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound redshirt junior gives the Crimson Tide a blend of size and speed it was missing at the receiver position, and could develop into a key downfield threat for Simpson this fall. 

At least that’s how Horton wants his quarterback to view him on the field. 

“That big guy to go up and get it,” Horton said. “Whenever it’s time to bail out, Sai’s down there somewhere and he’s going to make a play for him. I’ll make that.” 

After an injury limited him to one catch for 6 yards during the season opener at Florida State, Horton flashed his big-play potential over the weekend, pulling his three catches for 51 yards, including the 29-yard touchdown from Simpson. 

“I was kind of dinged up the first game, so it kind of threw off the game plan a little bit,” Horton said. “Second game, we did what we had to do. Now we’re just focused on the next game.” 

It was just one half against an overmatched ULM team, but it’s hard for Alabama not to get excited about Horton’s potential. Tide fans need look no further than former first-round pick Rome Odunze as an example of what a big downfield receiver can do in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s attack 

Odunze, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, piled up 167 catches for 2,785 yards and 20 touchdowns in two seasons under Grubb and Kalen DeBoer’s offense at Washington from 2022-23. It might be unfair to compare Horton to the former Biletnikoff finalists just yet, but the potential is there. 

Like Odunze, Horton’s size isn’t the only trait that sets him apart. Both receivers share surprising speed for their size, as Odunze was clocked with a 4.45 time in the 40-yard dash, while Horton has been measured at 22 miles per hour by Alabama’s GPS tracking system. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Washington targeted Odunze 49 times on throws that traveled 20 or more yards past the line of scrimmage during the 2023 season. The big-play receiver led the nation with a 99.9 deep-ball grade, reeling in 23 of those for 783 yards and six touchdowns. 

When asked on Tuesday, Horton said he can model his game after Odunze moving forward. And when it comes to flashing the same downfield threat, he believes he has plenty of that in store for Alabama.

“I can’t wait to show my speed,” Horton said. “People kind of underestimate it. I know it’s coming, and I just stay patient.”