Which was the best college football team in recent memory? The answer for most will probably revolve around 2019 LSU or, for some, even 2020 Alabama. Whatever your answer might be, Alabama’s unmatched dominance in 2020 was pivotal. It was special to be probably one of the last teams to go undefeated, and it will be one of the select few teams to go undefeated recently, too. Why? For starters, they don’t make players like DeVonta Smith or Patrick Surtain anymore. But also because of the demands that 12-team (and in the future, even expanded) playoffs have on teams. 

Want to know how dominant that 2020 Alabama team was? Their schedule was jam-packed with tough fixtures like Aggies, Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, and Florida. Yet, Nick Saban led the team undefeated in an all-SEC schedule and defeated Notre Dame and Ohio State in the playoffs. But it wasn’t all Saban. If you look at the wide receiver room, it was unworldly, something even Patrick Surtain acknowledges has helped him become the world-class player he is today.

Patrick Surtain II sat on Johnny Manziel’s recent podcast episode and talked about the various dynamics that played out in the 2020 season. The superstar CB, then, acknowledged the influence that the WR room had on him as a player. “Man, I’ll say this, bro. I think we had like probably the most crucial receiver lineup in college football history,” said Surtain. But this was also the time when Surtain’s teammate Henry Ruggs broke onto the scene and became a first-round pick in the NFL draft.

Yet, his time in the NFL was short-lived as he was convicted of 3-10 years for reportedly causing an accident that killed Tina Tintor and her dog Max. Surtain was also asked about the whole thing and if Henry Ruggs could make a comeback in the NFL. “I spoke to him prior. You know, obviously, he’s in positive spirits and good hopes. You know what I mean? Obviously, his actions don’t justify who he is as a person; it’s one mistake. One big mistake, obviously, but you know, he’s in good spirits and good hope. I’m wishing the best for him. He’s my guy at the end of the day,” said Surtain.

The receivers that Alabama had in 2020 and even in the 2019 season helped Surtain become the world-class cornerback that he is today in the NFL, and Ruggs was one of those receivers. Even though Surtain was a consensus five-star recruit in the 2018 class, the world-class talent shaped him in every way. Take, for example, DeVonta Smith, who won the Heisman trophy, receiving 1,856 record-breaking all record. As for Ruggs, he made a special appearance recently and pleaded for mercy, expressing interest in making a comeback in the NFL.

Patrick Surtain’s words echo louder for Ruggs to make an NFL comeback

Ruggs was selected as the overall 12th pick in the 2020 NFL draft after receiving 1,487 yards in 2018 and 2019 combined. But on November 2nd, 2021, everything changed after Ruggs crashed his Corvette Stingray into 23-year-old Tina Tintor’s car, who was traveling with her dog, Max. Now, 3 years after the tragedy, Henry Ruggs was granted a special release to appear at an event in Las Vegas, where Ruggs reflected on the whole ordeal.

“I wish I could turn back the hands of time…I would just tell them (Tina Tintor’s family) that I deeply apologize for just being a part of that, and I wish that they could meet the real Henry Ruggs and not one who was just running away from everything,” said Ruggs. Later, he expressed interest in making a comeback in the NFL. “I don’t feel like I ended on the terms that are meaningful to me and my core values. I would love to play again, and what better place to do it than where I started? Not to mention, I was the first-ever pick in Las Vegas.”

Ruggs can make a comeback, as we have seen with other players like Michael Vick, who went on to become an Eagles legend. However, it will depend on him successfully obtaining parole. Currently, Ruggs is scheduled for parole eligibility in August 2026, so he will have to wait another year to finally make that comeback a reality. Right now, though, support from Patrick Surtain could mean a great deal as he looks for encouragement within the NFL fraternity.