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McElroy: Tua Tagovailoa's Heisman hype unlike Jeremy Johnson
As the new betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's shot at winning college football's most prestigious award has been met with near instantaneous criticism questioning how much value can be placed on his appearances as a freshman.
There's been comparisons made to former Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who flatlined as a junior in 2015 despite being a preseason darling coming off stellar play in limited action the previous campaign.
Johnson's Heisman odds kept increasing throughout the summer despite his only real game action coming in place of suspended quarterback Nick Marshall in the 2014 opener vs. Arkansas when he gashed the Razorbacks with 243 yards passing and two touchdowns in one half of football.
SEC Network analyst Greg McElroy sees major separation between Johnson and Tagovailoa, however.
āJeremy Johnson was a Heisman favorite off a half of football, too,ā McElroy said, via The Montgomery Advertiser. āThe difference between Jeremy Johnson and Tua Tagovailoa is Jeremy Johnson did it against Arkansas, which was one of the worst defenses weāve ever seen a handful of years ago. He was awesome. We were like, 'this guy is going to be unbelievable.' Tua did it against one of the best defenses in college football with everything on the line.
"I would say that itās different in that regard.ā
No disrespect to Johnson, who was an elite-level pro-style passer in his own right coming out of the 2013 class, but the Tigers were coming off an SEC Championship, a BCS National Championship Game appearance and had several notable starters back on both sides of the ball ahead of him taking over the reins of the offense from Marshall.
Auburn was set up to succeed under Johnson, much like Tagovailoa this season at Alabama, though Johnson never received the rave reviews from evaluators like the Crimson Tide's rising sophomore has. Trent Dilfer called Tagovailoa the best quarterback he's ever scouted while Lane Kiffin keeps going back to Steve Young comparisons when describing his level of accuracy and poise.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former league scout for multiple teams, likens Tagovailoa to Russell Wilson and says he sees the same attributes from a skills standpoint.
Alabama coach Nick Saban has kept his quarterback choice hidden throughout the offseason and says he'll pick the guy who best leads the team during fall practice. Jalen Hurts is 26-2 as Alabama's starter the past two seasons, but lingering questions about his downfield ability has opened the door for Tagovailoa, whose 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime against Georgia won January's national championship game.
There's no doubt the Crimson Tide can win with both and Saban alluded to that during SEC Media Days. He is unsure whether Hurts will still be a part of the team if he doesn't win the job, however. Alabama tailback Damien Harris says the two quarterbacks feed off each other and the team will be fine with either player chosen to lead.
As the new betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's shot at winning college football's most prestigious award has been met with near instantaneous criticism questioning how much value can be placed on his appearances as a freshman.
There's been comparisons made to former Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who flatlined as a junior in 2015 despite being a preseason darling coming off stellar play in limited action the previous campaign.
Johnson's Heisman odds kept increasing throughout the summer despite his only real game action coming in place of suspended quarterback Nick Marshall in the 2014 opener vs. Arkansas when he gashed the Razorbacks with 243 yards passing and two touchdowns in one half of football.
SEC Network analyst Greg McElroy sees major separation between Johnson and Tagovailoa, however.
āJeremy Johnson was a Heisman favorite off a half of football, too,ā McElroy said, via The Montgomery Advertiser. āThe difference between Jeremy Johnson and Tua Tagovailoa is Jeremy Johnson did it against Arkansas, which was one of the worst defenses weāve ever seen a handful of years ago. He was awesome. We were like, 'this guy is going to be unbelievable.' Tua did it against one of the best defenses in college football with everything on the line.
"I would say that itās different in that regard.ā
No disrespect to Johnson, who was an elite-level pro-style passer in his own right coming out of the 2013 class, but the Tigers were coming off an SEC Championship, a BCS National Championship Game appearance and had several notable starters back on both sides of the ball ahead of him taking over the reins of the offense from Marshall.
Auburn was set up to succeed under Johnson, much like Tagovailoa this season at Alabama, though Johnson never received the rave reviews from evaluators like the Crimson Tide's rising sophomore has. Trent Dilfer called Tagovailoa the best quarterback he's ever scouted while Lane Kiffin keeps going back to Steve Young comparisons when describing his level of accuracy and poise.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former league scout for multiple teams, likens Tagovailoa to Russell Wilson and says he sees the same attributes from a skills standpoint.
Alabama coach Nick Saban has kept his quarterback choice hidden throughout the offseason and says he'll pick the guy who best leads the team during fall practice. Jalen Hurts is 26-2 as Alabama's starter the past two seasons, but lingering questions about his downfield ability has opened the door for Tagovailoa, whose 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime against Georgia won January's national championship game.
There's no doubt the Crimson Tide can win with both and Saban alluded to that during SEC Media Days. He is unsure whether Hurts will still be a part of the team if he doesn't win the job, however. Alabama tailback Damien Harris says the two quarterbacks feed off each other and the team will be fine with either player chosen to lead.
