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John Talty | jtalty@al.com
The reasons why Tua Tagovailoa will be Alabama's starting quarterback this season.
This is an opinion column.
It's not hyperbole to say the Tua vs. Jalen debate is the biggest college football storyline headed into fall camp.
But as fun as it will be to debate the merits of both over the next month -- we'll do plenty of it here at AL.com -- it's really not much of a debate on who should be Alabama's starter when it opens the season against Louisville.
All you need to do is put the second half of the 2018 national championship game on a loop to know who will win the starting job.
There isn't a ton of evidence that Tua Tagovailoa should be Alabama's starter this season, but unfortunately for Jalen Hurts, the little evidence we do have is incredibly compelling.
Tagovailoa, as a true freshman, delivered one of the most incredible moments in college football history. Alabama finally has a cool nickname for a big game as Tagovailoa created the "2nd-and-26" memorabilia cottage industry.
The Hawaiian left-hander led a second-half comeback over Georgia that his counterpart, Hurts, was incapable of orchestrating. It wasn't just that beautiful 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith that delivered the Crimson Tide its second title in the last three years. It was the way Alabama's talented youngsters -- Smith, Najee Harris and Alex Leatherwood, to name three -- rallied around Tagovailoa as the Tide fought back from a 13-point halftime deficit. Alabama played with a different energy in the second half, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll opened up the playbook, and the Tide's future never looked brighter.
It was the best title game performance from a quarterback in the Saban era at Alabama, and Tagovailoa only had a half. Now just imagine what he can do over the course of an entire season with extra experience and coaching.
To be fair, Hurts is a very good college player who would make a lot of opposing coaches happy should he leave Alabama. He's a good teammate, he handled his second-half title game benching with the utmost class and, lest we forget, has a 26-2 record as a starter. You can easily make the argument he's a top five SEC quarterback -- he won SEC Offensive Player of the Year his freshman season -- but he happens to be on the same team as one who has the potential to be the SEC's best.
Whereas Hurts has well-known passing limitations, Tagovailoa has "as unique of a release combined with arm strength that I've ever seen. It's Aaron Rodgers-esque, if not better," according to former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer.
While Hurts is the perfect guy to lead an Alabama offense that slowly squeezes the life out of its opponent, Tagovailoa can deliver big plays at a moment's notice. And with a totally rebuilt defensive secondary and new defensive coordinator, Tosh Lupoi, who has never called plays before, Alabama could need some big play magic this season. Tagovailoa is the better-suited QB to capitalize on Alabama's young but talented wide receiver trio of Smith, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs.
Picking Tagovailoa as the starter isn't absent of risk. He appears to be more prone to commit turnovers than Hurts -- sloppy practice performances is one reason he didn't unseat Jalen until the title game -- which is an easy way to land in Saban's doghouse. He's courted attention much more than Hurts has to this point which could create problems down the road. He's also thrown all of 77 collegiate passes -- one less than Auburn's Jeremy Johnson had thrown before the Heisman Trophy hype cranked up, and we all know how that played out.
But for right now, just keep focusing on what happened Jan. 8 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Remember the moxie and charisma Tagovailoa had leading the comeback win over a very talented Georgia squad. Remember how giddy you felt that night trying to wrap your head around how Alabama pulled it off.
Tagovailoa isn't just the future of Alabama football; he's the present. That will be on full display next month in Orlando when Tua rightfully takes the first snap.
John Talty | jtalty@al.com
The case for Tua Tagovailoa to be Alabama's starting QB
This is an opinion column.
It's not hyperbole to say the Tua vs. Jalen debate is the biggest college football storyline headed into fall camp.
But as fun as it will be to debate the merits of both over the next month -- we'll do plenty of it here at AL.com -- it's really not much of a debate on who should be Alabama's starter when it opens the season against Louisville.
All you need to do is put the second half of the 2018 national championship game on a loop to know who will win the starting job.
There isn't a ton of evidence that Tua Tagovailoa should be Alabama's starter this season, but unfortunately for Jalen Hurts, the little evidence we do have is incredibly compelling.
Tagovailoa, as a true freshman, delivered one of the most incredible moments in college football history. Alabama finally has a cool nickname for a big game as Tagovailoa created the "2nd-and-26" memorabilia cottage industry.
The Hawaiian left-hander led a second-half comeback over Georgia that his counterpart, Hurts, was incapable of orchestrating. It wasn't just that beautiful 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith that delivered the Crimson Tide its second title in the last three years. It was the way Alabama's talented youngsters -- Smith, Najee Harris and Alex Leatherwood, to name three -- rallied around Tagovailoa as the Tide fought back from a 13-point halftime deficit. Alabama played with a different energy in the second half, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll opened up the playbook, and the Tide's future never looked brighter.
It was the best title game performance from a quarterback in the Saban era at Alabama, and Tagovailoa only had a half. Now just imagine what he can do over the course of an entire season with extra experience and coaching.
To be fair, Hurts is a very good college player who would make a lot of opposing coaches happy should he leave Alabama. He's a good teammate, he handled his second-half title game benching with the utmost class and, lest we forget, has a 26-2 record as a starter. You can easily make the argument he's a top five SEC quarterback -- he won SEC Offensive Player of the Year his freshman season -- but he happens to be on the same team as one who has the potential to be the SEC's best.
Whereas Hurts has well-known passing limitations, Tagovailoa has "as unique of a release combined with arm strength that I've ever seen. It's Aaron Rodgers-esque, if not better," according to former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer.
While Hurts is the perfect guy to lead an Alabama offense that slowly squeezes the life out of its opponent, Tagovailoa can deliver big plays at a moment's notice. And with a totally rebuilt defensive secondary and new defensive coordinator, Tosh Lupoi, who has never called plays before, Alabama could need some big play magic this season. Tagovailoa is the better-suited QB to capitalize on Alabama's young but talented wide receiver trio of Smith, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs.
Picking Tagovailoa as the starter isn't absent of risk. He appears to be more prone to commit turnovers than Hurts -- sloppy practice performances is one reason he didn't unseat Jalen until the title game -- which is an easy way to land in Saban's doghouse. He's courted attention much more than Hurts has to this point which could create problems down the road. He's also thrown all of 77 collegiate passes -- one less than Auburn's Jeremy Johnson had thrown before the Heisman Trophy hype cranked up, and we all know how that played out.
But for right now, just keep focusing on what happened Jan. 8 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Remember the moxie and charisma Tagovailoa had leading the comeback win over a very talented Georgia squad. Remember how giddy you felt that night trying to wrap your head around how Alabama pulled it off.
Tagovailoa isn't just the future of Alabama football; he's the present. That will be on full display next month in Orlando when Tua rightfully takes the first snap.
John Talty | jtalty@al.com
The case for Tua Tagovailoa to be Alabama's starting QB
