Saban on starting QB: ‘We’ll see’
Alabama’s starting controversy remains as coach says, ‘I love both guys’
ATLANTA – The No. 1 topic for everybody’s No. 1 team is, well, “still to be determined.” That wasn’t unexpected, but it was Nick Saban’s answer — before anyone had the chance to ask — to the question of which quarterback will start for Alabama.
Is it Tua Tagovailoa or Jalen Hurts? “The No. 1 thing you’d like to talk about is the quarterback controversy you love to create and continues to create, you love to talk about … it’s still to be determined,” Saban said. “You can ask all the questions you want … I’m going to say, ‘We’ll see.’ ”
He noted the controversy — sorry, the competition — was delayed when Tagovailoa suffered a hand injury during spring practices.
The controversy — sorry, the competition — was stoked in January when Saban replaced Hurts with Tagovailoa at halftime of the College Football Playoff national championship game. Tagovailoa led Alabama to a comeback win, tossing a touchdown pass on 2ndand-26 to beat Georgia in overtime.
Although Tagovailoa’s performance was uneven, he flashed tantalizing potential. Meanwhile, despite Hurts’ glittering 26-2 record as a starter, his limitations as a passer were at times problematic for the Crimson Tide against better opponents.
All of that is why many expect Tagovailoa, who’ll be a sophomore this fall, to win the job — and why there’s been speculation Hurts might transfer in that event.
“I have no idea,” Saban said when asked if he thought Hurts would be on the roster when the season opens Sept. 1 against Louisville.
“I expect him to be there. It’s our job to give both players a very fair opportunity to have a chance to win the team at their position. … Both are capable. We’ll create a role for one or both of those guys on our team and they’ll all have to make a decision, based on the outcome (of the competition), as to their future at Alabama.
“Jalen has a great opportunity (to graduate) in December, so we are hopeful he will stay and do that regardless of what happens. … But that’s not to minimize his chances (of winning the starting job).”
Hurts, who’ll be a junior, could also presumably take advantage of a change to the NCAA’s redshirt rule that allows players to play in as many as four games in a season without using a year of eligibility. But Saban said he would not consider that rule’s potential benefits to either player in determining the winner, saying his obligation to the team is to choose the best player.
Regardless of which quarterback wins the controversy — sorry, the competition — it’s far from the only uncertainty for the Crimson Tide. Although Alabama will be among the favorites, probably most people’s prohibitive favorite, to repeat as national champion and add to the collection of five in the last nine seasons, this version might have more “still to be determined” than most Alabama teams of recent vintage.
Alabama brings back the bulk of a very talented offense but must rebuild — at ’ Bama, this often means reload — on defense. What does that mean? Maybe not too much.
“We have a uniform at Alabama,” Saban said. “It doesn’t change much. It doesn’t reveal much. It’s kind of we are.”
Does that go for the quarterback controversy — sorry, competition?
There’s an old coaching truism: If a team has two quarterbacks, it doesn’t have one. The idea is no one has won the job and maybe neither is good enough to do so. But given what we’ve already seen from both quarterbacks — even though Tagovailoa’s resume is much thinner — that doesn’t seem to be the case with Alabama.
“I love both guys,” Saban said. “Both are really good competitors and good leaders. They’ve made really good contributions to the team, both are wellliked. Somebody’s got to win the team.”