| NEWS Tyler Watts on Tua Tagovailoa-Jalen Hurts and the 'dark years of Alabama football'

[Mark Heim | mheim@al.com]

Tyler Watts: "If you have a three- to a seven-point lead, Jalen Hurts is a perfect fit. ... "When you're down - like you saw against Auburn and in the national championship - you need to have someone who is a little more dynamic and explosive."

If anyone knows about quarterback competitions at Alabama, it's Tyler Watts.

Actually, let's call it what it was. It was a full-fledged quarterback controversy.

Watts, now an analyst for the Crimson Tide Radio Network, played under coaches Mike DuBose (1997-2000) and Dennis Franchione (2001-2002).

And when I said played, it was more like playing musical chairs. Watts and Andrew Zow were part of the more memorable quarterback controversies in Tuscaloosa.

The DuBose coaching staff was divided and the schism filtered down to players due to direct or off-hand comments by coaches.

"It was kind of embarrassing," Watts told AL.com back in 2009.

Watts joined me and Lee Shirvanian on Wednesday on "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5 to discuss his quarterback experience at Alabama and how different the situation is today with Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.

"Those are kind of the dark years of Alabama football," Watts half-serious, half-joking said on Wednesday. "We don't like to talk about it. It was a tough environment for everybody. It wasn't just because Andrew and I were competing for positions. It was the entire culture of the football program. ...

"The guys feed off leadership. When you're strong at the top, it reflects down below and vice versa."

A relevant point these days as spring practice started this week for Nick Saban's Crimson Tide.

Watts is convinced the issues that plagued his time in Tuscaloosa aren't even on the radar today.

"I don't think this football team cares because there isn't a single position that is a sacred cow," Watts said. "Everybody is clawing for playing time and an opportunity to start."

And don't let the latest news of Tagovailoa's injury think that changes anything, he said.

"Listen, this thing wasn't going to be decided after 15 practices anyway," Watts said. "Why make a decision in 15 looks when you can make that same decision in 30 or 40?

"This is going to continue into the fall. They know what they got. They just want to see how they respond and who is edging ahead and what they can do offensively with different packages."

He points out, like many people have, that both Hurts and Tagovailoa bring something different to the offense.

"If you have a three- to a seven-point lead, Jalen Hurts is a perfect fit because he isn't going to make a mistake," Watts explained, adding his ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing is something coaches look for.

"When you're down - like you saw against Auburn and in the national championship - you need to have someone who is a little more dynamic and explosive. Yeah, they might make more mistakes along the way, but they are going to make a lot of plays that Jalen - in my opinion - isn't capable of making."

So, balancing the two is the key, he said.

The competition will have a winner, ultimately, unlike the Zow-Watts debate.

"That is definitely an on-going debate with me and Andrew," Watts joked. "We see each other quite often and we're constantly reminding each other of who the true winner was.

"It was a humbling experience all the way around. You play enough, you're going to be humbled."


Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Tyler Watts on Tua Tagovailoa-Jalen Hurts and the 'dark years of Alabama football'

 

[TUSKtimes]

Dubose couldn't manage period and it was a fatal flaw for our program Coach Fran, needed a running QB and favored Watts even though Zow was the much better passer. It never seemed like a healthy competition at QB.

Saban is neither coach and I sincerely think he wants to dramatize what each guy does best and put that on the field. In the biggest of games, against the better defenses, I think he does exactly what coach Bryant did in the big ones. He plays his best QB.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Dubose couldn't manage period and it was a fatal flaw for our program Coach Fran, needed a running QB and favored Watts even though Zow was the much better passer. It never seemed like a healthy competition at QB.

Saban is neither coach and I sincerely think he wants to dramatize what each guy does best and put that on the field. In the biggest of games, against the better defenses, I think he does exactly what coach Bryant did in the big ones. He plays his best QB.

And can you imagine how difficult it will be to put in a game plan in one week to defense both of these QBs...

 

[sk33tr]

i like Tyler. especially since he's my insurance agent :bama2: #RollTide

he's a cool guy and very easy to talk to. and he'll talk some BAMA football with you all day long if you want.

 

[TUSKtimes]

And can you imagine how difficult it will be to put in a game plan in one week to defense both of these QBs...

I would be a lot for a defense to implement in just a few days. Saban said the media and fans are making more of this QB thing than what's there. I hope so. If these two guys can co-exist and truly want what's best for the team it would be exciting to see Bama develope a dual personality on offense.

I use to hear for decades that running backs didn't like backups and they didn't. They insisted they needed the reps to get in their rhythm. Now we run 3 and 4 out there without thinking about it. I thought a fresh Najee in that 4th quarter was the change of pace needed to keep Georgia on their heels.

 

[JoshB]

If you've never read Andrew Zow's book, read it. He goes into GREAT detail about the Franchione issues. Really makes you feel for Zow and Watts in that situation.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

I would be a lot for a defense to implement in just a few days. Saban said the media and fans are making more of this QB thing than what's there. I hope so. If these two guys can co-exist and truly want what's best for the team it would be exciting to see Bama develope a dual personality on offense.

I use to hear for decades that running backs didn't like backups and they didn't. They insisted they needed the reps to get in their rhythm. Now we run 3 and 4 out there without thinking about it. I thought a fresh Najee in that 4th quarter was the change of pace needed to keep Georgia on their heels.

Ok....a fresh Najee....what about a frest Hurts at QB?.... i know how it worked out but..... don’t you think a fresh Hurts against a wore out D would have been a good idea? It worked fine.....

 

[JoshB]

I would be a lot for a defense to implement in just a few days. Saban said the media and fans are making more of this QB thing than what's there. I hope so.

Saban's not dumb. He knows this is a big deal. That is his attempt to a) try and temper the hoopla over the competition and b) scare the reporters into not asking as many questions about it.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Ok....a fresh Najee....what about a frest Hurts at QB?.... i know how it worked out but..... don’t you think a fresh Hurts against a wore out D would have been a good idea? It worked fine.....

I'm sure that was the idea when coach Bryant would send in the shock troops throughout the game. In that situation, you got an entirely different team but the pace was slow, especially with our running game, so the game was much shorter and the team didn't get that many possessions. Today, with our preference for the hurry up we are getting an entire quarter more plays than yesteryear. That is a lot more possessions to wear on the opponent and get folks in the game.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Saban's not dumb. He knows this is a big deal. That is his attempt to a) try and temper the hoopla over the competition and b) scare the reporters into not asking as many questions about it.

And give both QBs hope? I think there has been some transformation with coach Saban's philosophy at certain positions. Suppose we had always used the running back by committee as we did this year? Suppose Kamara was running the ball as a freshman instead of redshirting and eventually transferring out? I thought it was interesting that none of our backs got a redshirt as deep as we were. Even keeping Brian Robinson engaged on the field. Is that a change of philosophy to keep the greater talent grounded in Tuscaloosa?

 

[JoshB]

And give both QBs hope? I think there has been some transformation with coach Saban's philosophy at certain positions. Suppose we had always used the running back by committee as we did this year? Suppose Kamara was running the ball as a freshman instead of redshirting and eventually transferring out? I thought it was interesting that none of our backs got a redshirt as deep as we were. Even keeping Brian Robinson engaged on the field. Is that a change of philosophy to keep the greater talent grounded in Tuscaloosa?

Minus 2015, name a year where Alabama HASN'T used multiple backs consistently?

 

[TUSKtimes]

Minus 2015, name a year where Alabama HASN'T used multiple backs consistently?

I'm not describing featuring multiple backs in the same description as what Bama attempted this year by committee. I don't think we've ever seen so many great running backs get on the field regularly as the 2017 campaign. In the past, you saw an Alvin Kamara or an Eddie Lacy, Tyren Jones, get redshirted when there was a logjam at the position. That's why I mentioned even though we had Bo Scarbrough, Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs and Najee Harris in a rotation, Saban still worked a talented back like Brian Robinson in the mix. No redshirts, that feels like a different policy than the past.

 

[JoshB]

I'm not describing featuring multiple backs in the same description as what Bama attempted this year by committee. I don't think we've ever seen so many great running backs get on the field regularly as the 2017 campaign. In the past, you saw an Alvin Kamara or an Eddie Lacy, Tyren Jones, get redshirted when there was a logjam at the position. That's why I mentioned even though we had Bo Scarbrough, Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs and Najee Harris in a rotation, Saban still worked a talented back like Brian Robinson in the mix. No redshirts, that feels like a different policy than the past.

Brian Robinson didn't get "worked into the mix", though. He got carries late in blow outs and I would imagine part of that was the thought that Harris and Scarbrough might both leave after 2017.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Brian Robinson didn't get "worked into the mix", though. He got carries late in blow outs and I would imagine part of that was the thought that Harris and Scarbrough might both leave after 2017.

Let's face it @Birdman37 this wasn't the normal pattern we've seen at the Capstone. That was my single point. And once upon a time, I was associating that with Saban's willingness to change philosophy, perhaps even with his former belief that he doesn't run a 2 QB system. If in fact, he's successful, perhaps I'll even think back to 2014 and start wondering, what a Coker/Sims dual-threat attack would have reaped for the Tide.