Bayou Sara flows just south of the neighborhood. Railroad tracks run a bit to the west. Cross them to reach the community known as the Blackjacks.

Trees cast shadows over the streets, and the branches reach toward each other from opposite yards. The age of this Saraland neighborhood near the middle school shows through the height of the trees. They’ve been growing for years.

So, too, has the neighborhood’s elite football talent.

Velus Jones Jr., 27, led the way. The former Southern Cal/Tennessee receiver and now Jacksonville Jaguar once called the Blackjacks his home. A few houses over once lived his younger cousin, Cor’Dale Flott, 23. The New York Giants cornerback went to LSU from the Blackjacks. His brother, WyDale Flott, also went on to play football at Southern Miss.

A minute or so down the road, sat the home of Alabama receiver Ryan Williams.

All have taken different football paths, but each road leads back to this south Alabama neighborhood.

“I have coached a long time in this community,” Saraland high school coach Jeff Kelly said. “I can’t think of a young man that has come out of that neighborhood that didn’t work extremely hard and wasn’t one of those guys you wanted on the field with the game on the line.”

Jones was one of those players, so much so that Saraland declared Feb. 4, 2022 “Velus Jones Jr. Day” and presented the receiver with a key to the city. The school celebrated Jones’ accomplishments with a pep rally for the two-time All-State player.

Williams, 17, was in attendance, then a high school freshman. Jones knew him from the neighborhood and was aware of Williams’ talent; Jones had heard from his younger brothers how good Williams was. So Jones, who owned many Saraland records, issued a challenge to Williams.

Break every record.

Then Williams did it. Over the ensuing two seasons, Williams took over high school football in the state, winning Mr. Football twice.

“Truth be told, I didn’t know it was going to come to this,” Jones said. “I always knew he had talent and stuff like that, but you just never know how things are going to pan out.”

Jones should have known based on what happened on the basketball court.

The park sits where Blackjack Road, the namesake of the neighborhood, connects with Shady Oak St. Kelly has driven through many times to pick up or drop off kids, and he always sees kids on the playground or the basketball court when school’s not in session. “You can count on that,” Kelly said.

When Jones was in college, he would come home and shoot some hoops. There, Jones encountered Williams.

“He literally was hooping, windmilling freshman year or sophomore,” Jones said. “Dunking on people. It was like the craziest thing. Definitely the best athlete to ever come through Saraland.”

Williams paired a constant smile with a competitive drive.

“Felt like nobody could beat him at nothing,” Jones said. “I had to show him up in basketball.”

Jones didn’t care that Williams was 10 years younger. Age didn’t matter in these pickup games.

“Kids that grew up in that neighborhood were always extremely competitive and always extremely tough,” Kelly said. “If you were in that game, you had to be tough. You had to be competitive.”

Back then, Jones could put his body weight on Williams, who wasn’t even old enough to drive a car yet. Now, it might be a different story, but there is one thing that hasn’t changed: Williams’ nickname. Even as a kid in the park, Williams made known his moniker of ‘Hollywood.’

That confidence didn’t deter Jones. In fact, he respected it and wanted to encourage it.

“It’s like, honestly, shoot for the stars,” Jones said. “I had a lot of people doubting me.”

Then Jones paved the way for his neighbors. Kelly said Jones was really the first one at Saraland High School, which opened in 2010, to go through a national recruiting process. A few years later, his cousin Flott fielded offers from some top SEC programs such as Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and more before Flott signed with the Tigers. A good bit younger than Jones and Flott, Williams had the chance to watch both become Saraland stars.

“Seeing those guys have success,” Kelly said, “it probably drove Ryan to be more like them and maybe even be better than those guys.”

Jones and Flott both went on to become third-round NFL Draft picks. Meanwhile, Williams has emerged as one of the best receivers in college football as a 17-year-old freshman. He looks all but destined to become an NFL Draft pick in a few years.

The latest pro who once called the neighborhood north of Bayou Sara, and east of the railroad, his home.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.