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Dad of former Alabama wide receiver admits he made his son leave Tide

Originally posted on Touchdown Alabama Magazine | Last updated Nov 12, 2024 11:07 PM ET

The father of former Alabama wide receiver, Javon Baker, recently admitted his arrogance led to him telling his son to leave the Crimson Tide.

Jerald Baker sat down with Derrick Tatum of Elite Talent Football on Raw Talent Sports’ YouTube page.

Baker discussed his son’s time at Alabama. Javon signed with the Crimson Tide as an elite wide receiver recruit in the 2020 recruiting class. He transferred to UCF two years later and went on to be selected by the New England Patriots in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Jerald Baker revealed the former four-star did not want to leave Alabama.

“Javon never wanted to leave Alabama,” Baker said, “Javon never wanted to leave Alabama. I made that decision because…being so arrogant that how dare you not play my son? How dare you not play my son against the University of Georgia? Okay. And because of that arrogance, me and Coach Saban clashed.”

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Baker went on to say where his ‘arrogance’ originated from.

“I was arrogant,” said Baker. “And what really made me come to that thought process when Javon was at Alabama, I start to buy into the talk and buy into the talking heads, all these Alabama radio shows and podcasts and stuff, talking about the next greatest wide receiver to come out of Alabama.”

The dad appears to have learn from his experience and wants to share it with other parents of elite college football prospects.

This article first appeared on Touchdown Alabama Magazine and was syndicated with permission.

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