By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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To date, Tolbert has 132 career catches for 2,384 yards and 16 scores.

South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert is one of the top wide receivers in all of college football, the type of playmaker with the potential to be a high round NFL Draft pick. Over his last 19 games, the 6’3” talent has 107 receptions for 2,021 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging nearly 19 yards per catch in that span.

Tolbert burst onto the scene in the last game of his sophomore season, catching five passes for 144 yards and four touchdowns, the late game-winner included, in a dramatic victory over Arkansas State. That proved to be the springboard into a special stretch for Tolbert, who then opened 2020 with six catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns at Southern Miss and six grabs for 99 yards against Tulane. By then, Tolbert had established himself as a leading Sun Belt standout.

More records then came with more receptions against Arkansas State as Tolbert went for an astonishing 252 yards and three touchdowns, another late go-ahead score included, on ten catches in a holiday weekend showcase in Jonesboro. The last receiver, before Tolbert, with those minimums in a single game was Alabama’s DeVonta Smith, who would ultimately go on to win the Heisman Trophy.

This season, Tolbert, developing a good downfield chemistry with former South Carolina and Utah quarterback Jake Bentley, has 36 catches for 718 yards and two scores. He opened the year with 168 yards in a win over Southern Miss, added 143 yards against Louisiana. Tolbert, most recently, set a new career high with eleven receptions against Georgia Southern, totaling 174 yards with a touchdown. His efforts have helped the Jaguars to a 4-2 start. South Alabama is just four total points away from being undefeated and possibly ranked in the national polls.

To date, Tolbert has 132 career catches for 2,384 yards and 16 scores. He is already the Jaguars’ single-season leader with 1,085 yards a year ago and now the program’s all-time leading receiver as well. Additionally, Tolbert ranks in the top 20 in Sun Belt history in receiving yards and appears poised to move into the top ten over the next few weeks and possibly the top five by the finish of the season.

Tolbert, furthermore, is one of the most dynamic playmakers in recent college football memory. He is one of just 20 receivers this millennium to average at least 18 yards per reception on more than 130 catches, joining a group that includes Hollywood Brown, Tee Higgins, CeeDee Lamb, Devante Parker and Roddy White.

Even more history could be on the horizon.

Entering Saturday’s set of games, Tolbert ranks in the top five in the country with 718 receiving yards. He is averaging a mere stretch shy of 20 yards per catch. He and South Alabama will finish the regular season in the spotlight against Appalachian State, Tennessee and Coastal Carolina in Mobile. One of the best players in the game will be on display.