I terms of Hurts, I think we really don't know yet what his ceiling is. He had an amazing true freshman season, but how much he'll improve from that remains to be seen. He looked good passing downfield at A-Day, and he could improve more in the summer. So, I've never doubted his NFL potential but we'll just have to see, he's not the prototypical type they look for generally though. One thing I will say, one of the surest ways I see for him to regress is if he really does end up in a two QB situation. I've looked around a bit trying to compare stats and development and what not, and an established starter losing his job is one of the ways to derail their progression. It isn't just a matter of impacting their leadership and confidence, but I think just losing some of those first team reps at a point where they need them to develop can send them heading in the wrong direction. I really, really do not want to see this situation devolve into Hurts and Tua fighting for playing time between themselves, it seems to turn out poorly as often as it works out. It's one thing to do that to establish a starter, it's another entirely to do that to an established starter.
But... the one thing that seems clear as of right now is that Alabama has to have someone to play backup who can maintain an Alabama lead. Tua is that guy, and there's really no other option. So either someone else shows up, or he burns a redshirt and we see how things go from there. I'm just not as enthusiastic as some about that prospect because I much prefer the path of peaceful progression from Hurts to Tua vs. the only one can survive type scenario that their being only one year apart seems to invite.