Ah, yes. Spring ball is just around the corner. Here I was scrolling through my endless feeds of March Madness, the NFL Draft, and Wrestlemania. Then, BOOM – Spring ball smacks me right in the face. It’s a nice reminder that college football is only six months away now. But, I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows just a bit when I saw this pop up on my news feed.
On Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. CT, you’ll see a series of breathless posts come across your social media timelines from reporters as they leave the first practice of the spring at the University of Alabama.
The names and images of Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa figure to be featured prominently.
That’s right, it’s finally time for the next step in Alabama’s quarterback competition. Hurts, a junior who went 25-2 as a starter before being benched at halftime of the national championship game, will fight to keep the starting job from Tagovailoa, the sophomore who replaced him and orchestrated a comeback for the ages, complete with a game-winning touchdown pass in overtime.
But before this runaway train gets too far down the tracks, let’s all take a deep breath. Remember that almost nothing that happens in the coming weeks means much of anything, starting with reports of who might or might not have taken the first-team reps in practice on Tuesday. That’s only an artificial starting point.
Do y’all not remember how that National Championship game went down? People were talking about Hurts transferring after that performance from Tagovailoa. Like, there wasn’t even a point in Hurts showing up after that, right?!?? Everyone was talking about what a great job Hurts was going to do at Florida Atlantic with head coach Joey Saltwater. But, the kid was an absolute class act about the whole thing.
But, is this really the narrative? Or, is this just guys like you and me spitballin’ on Twitter? Probably that. Yeah, I’m going to go with that. It sounds like Hurts is going to have every opportunity to retain the job, and Tagovailoa is going to have every opportunity to take it from him. But, should it be an open competition?
Yes. It’s a hell of a spot for Alabama to be in, and it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
Tagovailoa’s performance in that National Championship game was pretty fluky. How often have we seen the backup quarterback come in and champion a comeback IN the championship game? He played a perfect game, and it would be foolish of us to think we’d see that in every game he plays. Likewise, Hurts didn’t play like Hurts at all. It was the most uncharacteristically bad game he’d ever played at Alabama. But, to act like Hurts’ 25-2 record means nothing because of that one game would be unreasonable. So, I think people much smarter than I am realize that the open competition route is the way to go.
Now, all that said….Tagovailoa’s the heir apparent to Hurts, there’s no questioning that. Though, I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that I am at least a little surprised, to a certain extent, that Hurts didn’t explore transfer options. And, really – we don’t know that he didn’t. I just haven’t found a credible source on the matter.
But, I wouldn’t expect Hurts to transfer as a sort of white-flag-waving surrender. More so, just seeing the writing on the wall and wanting a chance to start somewhere. Personally, I think Hurts has a pretty good shot at playing in the NFL, and whether I think so or not, Hurts is probably thinking that. He’s not going to get a chance to put film out there if he’s sitting on the bench. So, for that reason, I would’ve thought a transfer was a much more likely possibility.
One thing’s for sure, though – whoever ends up starting come September will have earned that right in a trial by fire. Both of these quarterbacks are extremely talented. You win this job, you’ve earned it. Plain and simple.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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