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Bama News
Why LSU safety hopes to see Tua playing Nov. 9
How LSU views the situation with Tua Tagovailoa's injured ankle entering the Nov. 9 game.
Tua Watch 2019 is fully engaged nine days before kickoff.
Now with two ankles repaired with specialized surgery, the speculation about his availability/effective availability for next Saturday’s visit from LSU is only growing with the days.
Down in Baton Rouge, they’re preparing for all possibilities for Nov. 9 in Bryant-Denny Stadium. LSU safety JaCoby Stevens is hoping to see Tua Tagovailoa behind center taking snaps when the college football world is watching.
“I feel like any competitor would,” Stevens told AL.com. “I’m pretty sure the guys at Alabama want to beat us at our best. They don’t want us to be limping in. They want us to be strong and they want us to be at our fullest at 100 percent if they do beat us. That’s the same here. We want to beat them when they’re at their best, too. That’s a competitive mindset.”
It will have been 21 days between Tagovailoa’s high-ankle sprain suffered against Tennessee and kickoff with top-ranked LSU. He had the tight-rope surgery a day later and was back a practice this week, Nick Saban said. The quarterback was not on the field during the media viewing periods Wednesday and Thursday.
Third-year sophomore Mac Jones stepped in as the starter in a 48-7 win over Arkansas by completing all but four of 22 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Stevens said they’ve watched film of Jones in his two games of significant playing time so they can be ready for whoever is out there.
But does it make it more difficult to prep for two passers rather than one?
“I mean, it is but, at the end of the day, Alabama is going to do what Alabama does,” said Stevens, the SEC’s defensive player of the week for a second straight week. “I feel like they don’t change their offense for who is back there at quarterback. Tua is obviously … Alabama thinks that because he’s the starter, Tua is the better quarterback so he can do more. But I feel like Alabama doesn’t change their offense on who is back there.”
That Tagovailoa-led offense had success in Baton Rouge last November. Outside of the 7-OT loss at Texas A&M, the Tigers allowed 400 yards of offense just once in 2018. Alabama had 576 in the 29-0 win over a top-5 LSU team that went on to win the Fiesta Bowl.
Tagovailoa threw for 295 yards on 25-for-42 passing with two passing touchdowns. He also ran for a 44-yard score that broke LSU’s back in the second half.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron fully expects to see the reigning Heisman runner up on the field next Saturday.
“The young man’s release is incredible,” Orgeron said. “His reads are incredible. They seem to call the right plays at the right time and he’s surrounded by great athletes. He’s a highly competitive young man and he can extend plays with his feet and I think he’s an excellent quarterback.”
Stevens sees a lot of the same when looking back on the eighth straight loss Alabama handed LSU last year.
“Tua gets the ball out fast,” he said. “He doesn’t hold the ball. He’s very decisive with the ball and like I said, I’ve never seen a quarterback get rid of the ball faster than Tua. It’s almost like catch and throw. Literally, catch and throw.”
