Alabama QB competition article

Maybe Jalen isn't concerned about a RS. Perhaps he intends on playing CFB only two more years regardless. So, why not get as much playing time as he can, develop as much as he can, then, it everything falls into place, team up with a team next year where they both will benefit. Whatever he decides, I wish him nothing but the very best (as long as he doesn't cross Bama's path in the process). He's a good kid, and he deserves an opportunity to display his talent.

Yea, Alabama!
Roll Tide!

Another nice thing about a dedicated QB coach is that we can have the OC in the box and the QB coach working with the QBs on the sideline. I feel like our ability to be in the right play has been improved by this arrangement. Not as much chaos.

KrAzY3 said:

This is the first year Alabama has an actual QB coach. Also Hurts never really had a veteran QB to learn from, so there wasn't as much learning on the sideline in the past couple years as there can be now. When Tua is in Hurts can watch and I assume pick the brain of the QB coach if he notices something. The inverse is true as well though, Tua can come out and discuss what the defense is doing and watch them and learn. Then the QB goes back out there and can execute based on what he's learned. I think we're at a different stage at the moment, and I don't think Saban is randomly swapping them in and out. I think a lot of this is about learning and developing, which yes might cost continuity, but that's a short term loss.

He did this to some extent with Tua last year. He tried to work him in earlier, he wasn't always able to (and early on Tua was a lot shakier), but the idea was get him ready just in case. I think what ever the long term plan is, there's certainly an element of get Hurts ready just in case. I don't think this is something we'd see late in the season, it just seems to me it's all about preparing Alabama for the tougher part of the schedule.

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I don't necessarily disagree with the current approach, I was just expressing my guess as to what some are thinking; not agreeing or disagreeing. Like I said, with most it is not opposition to Jalen playing just the distribution of playing time. I have my own thoughts but I defer to CNS. IMO, this has little to do with loyalty or any other sentimental type issues but is all about winning - in this case having the best backup available. Contrary to many fans, it's clear that CNS has much more confidence in Jalen as the backup vs Mac Jones. We don't know if Jalen's RS issue is known by anyone, including Jalen & Co. It could be that CNS is carrying on as if things are normal, i.e., he is putting the onus on Jalen to state his case, a change in his status. He is certainly keeping him engaged - and yesterday was a big step forward. And contrary to what some have said, yesterday was more than Jalen performing well vs an inferior opponent. It was the type of plays he made. He looked terrible vs UL but he looked very good vs AS: standing in the pocket, making accurate throws when being pressured or even hit. It was a different and very good performance.

Seems kind of like risking a divided team and possibly dissuading elite qbs that may be considering Alabama but he hasn't yet called to ask my opinion.

Crimson White said:

Seems kind of like risking a divided team and possibly dissuading elite qbs that may be considering Alabama but he hasn't yet called to ask my opinion.

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My guess is there is almost zero chance of a divided locker room and I think you will likely be pleased when Bama is playing more dangerous competition. IMO, Saban is not really employing a 2-QB system, but is developing and keeping engaged his preferred backup. I.e, he trusts Jalen far more than Mac Jones. There is no competition between Tua and Jalen. I don't believe CNS will put any game in doubt for the sake of playing Jalen - probably not even one series. Obviously just guessing.

BamaInBham said:

And contrary to what some have said, yesterday was more than Jalen performing well vs an inferior opponent. It was the type of plays he made. He looked terrible vs UL but he looked very good vs AS: standing in the pocket, making accurate throws when being pressured or even hit. It was a different and very good performance.

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I think what we witnessed was a more relaxed Hurts. What ever the course of action with him is, he played like he knew what it was. I felt like the latter part of the previous season, he finally let the pressure get to him. This carried over to A-Day and Louisville, and I can get why. There were issues in the locker room, there was a lot of pressure coming from all sides, and it seemed to be a bit much. I'm hoping he can play up to his potential, which while not on par with Tua is still very high.

Crimson White said:

Seems kind of like risking a divided team and possibly dissuading elite qbs.

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To the first part, were you ok with doing that on behalf of Tua? Because that is exactly what happened. I think the counter would be that you do what is best for the team, you can't worry about things like who is unhappy or what not. But, believe me, if Saban had redshirted Tua, the locker room would have been a lot different in terms of the "revolt" some posters have brought up a lot. The trick is you only get that sort of scenario when the QB struggles, is Tua struggling? No, in fact he has the highest total QBR of any quarterback in the nation. If Jalen sucks, there's no way on earth the locker room becomes divided, because Tua is already the starter and Jalen is the backup. If Jalen plays really, really well, are we worried about that? Is that something that bothers us? I also don't see how that would keep other QBs away, it just shows they're likely to get a fair chance to play.

Crimson White said:

Seems kind of like risking a divided team and possibly dissuading elite qbs that may be considering Alabama but he hasn't yet called to ask my opinion.

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I think now that Tua is officially the starter a 2 QB system is less likely to divide the team as long as we're ahead before Jalen is put in, but what I'm concerned about is how Tua feels about having to take turns with Jalen. It could be this way all season if Jalen does NOT redshirt. Maybe it's fine with Tua and if it is that's OK, but I can see how it might not be. I know players are supposed to be team oriented but Tua is such a talent and has dreams of an NFL career so he might not be happy that he can't put up the big numbers that would drive his stock up for a future NFL draft. Take the game we just played. Tua had a chance to set a school record for TD passes in game but he got pulled for Jalen so he never had the chance. The school record is 5, Tua had 4 and Jalen had 2. There's no doubt that Tua could have thrown the additional 2 that Jalen threw if he had been left in longer. There could be a lot of school records that Tua may not have a chance to break this season if the 2 QB system continues. I obviously can't read Tua's mind but I can't help but wonder how he feels.

KrAzY3 said:

To the first part, were you ok with doing that on behalf of Tua? Because that is exactly what happened. I think the counter would be that you do what is best for the team, you can't worry about things like who is unhappy or what not. But, believe me, if Saban had redshirted Tua, the locker room would have been a lot different in terms of the "revolt" some posters have brought up a lot. The trick is you only get that sort of scenario when the QB struggles, is Tua struggling? No, in fact he has the highest total QBR of any quarterback in the nation. If Jalen sucks, there's no way on earth the locker room becomes divided, because Tua is already the starter and Jalen is the backup. If Jalen plays really, really well, are we worried about that? Is that something that bothers us? I also don't see how that would keep other QBs away, it just shows they're likely to get a fair chance to play.

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Tua didn't get nearly the playing time, especially in the first 2 games last year, that Jalen is getting now, in spite of the fact that Tua was actually being developed as a true freshman that was #2 on the depth chart. I've never seen Nick Saban play the backup as much as he has played Hurts these 2 games.

You speak of the locker room and a player "revolt", and by several accounts that nearly happened last year. Why invite it this year.

I can think of several reasons it isn't a good idea to alternate qbs and the only good reason I can think of is to lessen the likelihood of Tua being injured. Given the choice, though, I bet he'd rather play at least 3 quarters. A lot of people are concerned about Jalen, but perhaps it might be a good idea to be at least as much concerned about the better qb. He has a pretty good young brother too, and so far he's committed to Alabama.

PA Tide Fan said:

I think now that Tua is officially the starter a 2 QB system is less likely to divide the team as long as we're ahead before Jalen is put in, but what I'm concerned about is how Tua feels about having to take turns with Jalen. It could be this way all season if Jalen does NOT redshirt. Maybe it's fine with Tua and if it is that's OK, but I can see how it might not be. I know players are supposed to be team oriented but Tua is such a talent and has dreams of an NFL career so he might not be happy that he can't put up the big numbers that would drive his stock up for a future NFL draft. Take the game we just played. Tua had a chance to set a school record for TD passes in game but he got pulled for Jalen so he never had the chance. The school record is 5, Tua had 4 and Jalen had 2. There's no doubt that Tua could have thrown the additional 2 that Jalen threw if he had been left in longer. There could be a lot of school records that Tua may not have a chance to break this season if the 2 QB system continues. I obviously can't read Tua's mind but I can't help but wonder how he feels.

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You don’t have to put up big numbers to be a high draft pick, it’s all about the intangibles and upside.

Btw, Tua doesn’t strike me as a dude worried about numbers, he’s a team player.

RammerJammer15 said:

You don’t have to put up big numbers to be a high draft pick, it’s all about the intangibles and upside.

Btw, Tua doesn’t strike me as a dude worried about numbers, he’s a team player.

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Maybe back in the day, but that's not the reality these days. The elite players today want to put up pretty statistics. They want to be on ESPN highlights. They want All American honors and to be a Heisman candidate because, celebrity aside, and what young blue chip player doesn't like celebrity, but those things can, in fact, impact the numbers in a NFL contract.

As for Tua being a team player, at least he's not talking about being a brand, but you can be assured he wants to play as much as possible.

First off, I don't think we have to worry about Taulia de-committing over how CNS has done in regards to the qbs so far. If he de-commits it will be for other reasons.
Everyone knows who the starter is. Problem for other teams now is that if CNS and Hurts have agreed to redshirt Hurts or whatever he still has two more games he can play in at any point in the season so teams still have to somewhat game plan because Hurts can come in at any time . In this last game he actually looked pretty good on his passing ( yeah, I know who we were playing) so teams will have to plan for that, too.
I really don't understand all of the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth. I really don't think CNS has lost all sense or football knowledge yet.

Crimson White said:

Tua didn't get nearly the playing time, especially in the first 2 games last year, that Jalen is getting now, in spite of the fact that Tua was actually being developed as a true freshman that was #2 on the depth chart. I've never seen Nick Saban play the backup as much as he has played Hurts these 2 games.

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That's kind of... hyperbolic. Tua didn't play the first game because it was a tight game. The second game he got 9 attempts. What does Hurts have? He's had 9 attempts each game. There's not some giant difference in how much Tua played in blowouts last year and how much Hurts played in blowouts this year.

The biggest difference is the magnitude of the first two blowouts, Alabama didn't really have a blowout like that until Vanderbilt, and guess what happened that game? Hurts got 17 attempts and Tua got 10. So far Tua has 16 and 19. As far as I can tell Saban is playing the QBs pretty much how he played them last year in blowouts, in terms of distribution. The only difference is he's inserting Hurts a bit earlier, and then putting Tua back in later, that's it.

The thing to look for is if Saban plays Hurts like this in a tight game. I seriously doubt he will though, but I will concede if it's a 1 score game or something and he trots Hurts out there, then yes that's a risk he shouldn't be taking and out of character for him since he has a starter. I don't see that happening though. I see him distributing time like he typically has once the game is well in hand. I would also point out that Hurts, given the whole 26-2 thing and what not, is not exactly a huge risk when he does come into the game, so of course Saban can be more comfortable putting him in, why wouldn't he? We all know Hurts isn't a big liability to throw the game away.

BamaInMo1 said:

First off, I don't think we have to worry about Taulia de-committing over how CNS has done in regards to the qbs so far. If he de-commits it will be for other reasons.
Everyone knows who the starter is. Problem for other teams now is that if CNS and Hurts have agreed to redshirt Hurts or whatever he still has two more games he can play in at any point in the season so teams still have to somewhat game plan because Hurts can come in at any time . In this last game he actually looked pretty good on his passing ( yeah, I know who we were playing) so teams will have to plan for that, too.
I really don't understand all of the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth. I really don't think CNS has lost all sense or football knowledge yet.

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You know, I don't see Taulia de-committing either...............I am looking forward to what he can do as well as Tyson

My opinion...take it for what it’s worth...

Jalen Hurts is engaged, and wants to be a productive member of this team...even if it means as the back-up quarterback. He is one play away from being the starter at any point in the season. He is also our best option as a second-string QB.

For all of you who feel that Tua is bothered, at all, by the snaps that Jalen is receiving...go back and watch his display of excitement at the successful plays that Jalen made Saturday.

Coach Saban, if nothing else, is methodical to the point of nausea. If you think that he hasn’t got everyone on the same page with his overall plan, then you haven’t been watching his Alabama teams over the past 10+ years.

Jalen and Coach have come to an understanding...Jalen has accepted the backup role because he is a team player, and he loves his team...and Coach has agreed to develope Jalen to the best of his ability within this system because of Jalen’s devotion to the team.

We should all respect these terms...because Jalen is our best option if we were to lose Tua to injury this year.

BearFoot said:

Jalen is a team player, and he loves his team...and... Jalen’s devotion to the team. .

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Sorry, but after his little speech about "my responsibility is to myself and my parents" and his remarks about having made his brand, I seriously doubt his devotion to the team. I mean, it's not like a he said/she said, second hand source. I sat there and watched him and heard him say it.

Crimson White said:

Sorry, but after his little speech about "my responsibility is to myself and my parents" and his remarks about having made his brand, I seriously doubt his devotion to the team. I mean, it's not like a he said/she said, second hand source. I sat there and watched him and heard him say it.

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You don't listen to Saban about building brands obvioulsy. It is something they are all taught when they step on campus. It's obvious you don't like Jalen but he has been a great ambassador for our university and handled himself admirably throughout this process for the most part. I know you want Tua and we all do but don't drag Jalen through the dirt in the process.

Calm and cool.

Tua's dad is pretty cool. Doesn't seam like a helicopter parent and is more about the team than the heisman stuff.

Mash

Don’t know if anyone else caught the Ravens Bengals game tonight but I liked how they brought in Lamar Jackson in on the jet sweeps. Defense had to account for him every time and it sometimes left someone else open. If somehow Jalen stays and plays longer than four games I’d love to see this at least introduced into the offense. JMO