TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — The eighth annual Worlds of Works showcased to freshman students what life has to offer after graduating high school.

The two-day career expo, organized by West Alabama Works, is being held at Shelton State Community College. Students are emersed into 11 different career pathways such as healthcare, agriculture, public service, construction and welding.

Interactive booths are set up throughout the college, allowing students to see what health care, agriculture, law enforcement, hospitality and trade workers do every day.

“It actually helps me understand the careers a lot more,” Central High Schooler Shamiya Dotson said.

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The hands-on career fair provides students with a unique experience to help them decide on what they want to study in college or what career they’ll pursue.

Although ninth graders have three years until they walk across the graduation stage, WOW’s executive director Donny Jones said it is important students start thinking about their future now.

“The reason we have our ninth graders come is because in the ninth grade, they are making decisions for all of their career technical choices for the tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade,” Jones said.

More students in West Alabama are pursuing a trade post high school. Jones says WOW is one reason the area is seeing an uptick in enrollment.

“We’ve been tracking our career technical enrollment and we’ve seen anywhere from 5 to 18% increase year over year in the different CTE programs,” Jones said.

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Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban won six National Championships during his time in Tuscaloosa, with the first one coming in the 2009 season, which broke a 17-year dry spell.

There were several Crimson Tide greats on this roster, including wide receiver Julio Jones, who led the team in every receiving category as a sophomore. Jones became an Alabama legend the following season after practically doubling his numbers in every stat category, and his dominance helped him get selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the sixth overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Jones quickly emerged as one of the best players in the league at his position, as he was named to his first Pro Bowl in his second season. Jones succumbed to a season-ending injury early in his third season, but he picked himself up and proceeded to make six-straight Pro Bowl appearances and two First Team All-Pro lists, leading the league in yards per game three times and was the NFL’s receiving yards leader in 2015 and 2018.

Jones, who’s from Foley, Alabama, has remained close to his roots over the years and has helped the Crimson Tide out for quite some time. The 35-year-old is currently a free agent and has come to a couple of Alabama games this year. On Wednesday, Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard opened up about Jones and his impact on the program, especially during the Tide’s instant classic against Georgia this past Saturday.

“Love that guy, he’s awesome!” Shephard said. “I just respect him so much because he came to me and said ‘Hey coach, last game that I was here, I was on the verge of saying something to the guys to say certain things to them, but I refrained from it because I didn’t want to step on your toes.’”

“I made it extremely clear: ‘Julio, I played zero snaps in the NFL and you’re one of the greatest wide receivers that any of them have ever known. You’ve earned that right by what you did here at the University of Alabama and the NFL. You would actually be doing me a disservice by not talking to them. Whether it’s during, before or after the game, if you want me to be quiet, Julio, you got it.’ I just respect what he’s done and what he’s meant to this program. It was amazing just to meet him the first time because it’s Julio Jones, man. I used his film forever.”

Jones is frequently mentioned by not just former Alabama players but also NFL greats as a role model to the game. For example, 11-time Pro Bowler and future first-ballot Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald called Jones “the best I’ve ever seen,” in 2019.

Shephard shared an anecdote of Jones’ recruitment to Alabama that he still hears about from a clip that sits in his barbershop.

“I think coach Saban said we had four guys committed in the class and you’re going to be the fifth,” Jones said in the clip. “Julio said ‘I don’t care how many guys you got in the class! When you come to Alabama, you’re going to compete.’

“You got no choice but to compete,” a man in the barber chair interrupted, per Shephard. “That’s why cream rises to the top.”

“When we talk about Julio Jones, that’s why cream rises to the top,” Shephard said. “I’m trying to get my guys to emulate the things that he did, not only at Alabama, but also in the National Football League.”

As the Crimson Tide’s season continues, how many more games will Jones be around the team for? Based on the unforgettable outcome of the Georgia game and the impact he has on the program and the NFL, Jones can probably talk to Alabama’s wide receivers as often as he wants.

Alabama is coming off a massive home win over Georgia and, naturally, trying to avoid a letdown. Playing usual SEC bottom feeder Vanderbilt — albeit the Commodores are feisty in 2024 — only adds to the possibility of a flat, upset-worthy performance.

So the Crimson Tide are trying to avoid the trap game and falling victim to the “rat poison” of consuming too much praise, as former head coach Nick Saban coined the term. To help hammer home the message, though, player personnel director Josh Chapman got some useful props: Actual rat traps.

“It was yesterday, Chap walks in, throws a bunch of rat traps down. ‘It’s a trap game, y’all!’” Offensive lineman Parker Brailsford said on Tuesday.

And to Brailsford, the message was well received. He knows now is the time to button down and weather the storm of taking the best shots opponents have to offer.

“I mean, I agree. These are definitely games that — I wouldn’t even say it’s a trap game, I would just say I think Vanderbilt’s a good team and I think we’re just going to get everybody’s best like always,” Brailsford said. “Like I said, the standard’s the standard, we’re going to play ball.”

Alabama catches Vanderbilt coming off a week off and, to some extent, reeling after a 2-0 start turned in to a 2-2 stretch to open the season. The most recent outing from the Commodores was valiant, though, a double overtime loss to Missouri that was poised to go to a third until Vanderbilt missed a game-tying field goal attempt.

Either way, the rat traps serve as a reminder: Any team Alabama plays in the SEC can beat them.

“It’s all about just making sure respect the team we’re playing and not just being like, ‘Oh, it’s just Vanderbilt.’ Vanderbilt is a very good team,” linebacker Que Robinson said. “They took Missouri to double overtime. And we just gotta respect that, you know? You just can’t go out there moseying around, you gotta respect the team and go out there and play our standard of football.”

And while the “rat poison” term was coined and popularized by Saban, the message didn’t need translating for newcomers to the program like transfer safety Keon Sabb.

He first noticed some rat traps in the locker room and quickly got the gist.

“It got to me right away,” Sabb said. “Once you see it, you know, ‘OK, it’s not an infestation in here. It’s something else.’ I got it real quick.”

And Sabb shared that for him, at least, the rat traps are having the intended effect.

“Once you see it, it’s like, ‘OK,’ something in your brain that every time you see one, you know it’s not one of those games,” Sabb said.