Alabama QB competition article

Wilson Monroe

1st Team
Jul 19, 2016
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Also, remember that several of Tua's best plays against GA were running plays. He converted several 3rd downs with his legs in that game. Do we really want to take that away just to make him into a "pocket passer"?
Certainly not. He makes good plays with his legs. I doubt that part of his game is abandoned. He looked good to me throwing from the pocket any time he got to play last year, so I am not going to say that he "needs" to be moved around to throw a good ball short in the middle of the field until I see evidence of this.

I don't really watch pro ball, so I didn't know about their schemes much. I think Brees threw a good bit of inside slants to a TE a couple of years back. Were the throwing lanes designed for that in the O-Line blocking?
 

PA Tide Fan

All-American
Dec 11, 2014
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I'm not worrying too much about Tua's height. The coaching staff thought about that when they recruited him. From what I understand Coach Saban has strict height and weight criteria for each position. When recruiting height and weight play a big factor into whether or not they recruit a kid and what position they recruit him for. There was no doubt that Tua could only be a QB so Saban and staff must have thought he had some superior skills that made up for the height deficiency or they wouldn't have recruited him. I trust their judgment and I'm sure they will develop a game plan to work around it.
 

RollTide_HTTR

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2017
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Does anyone have a good feel or reliable information on how tall Tua actually is? I think he is listed at 6'1" but would be curious how accurate that is. FWIW, Wilson is listed at 5'11", Brees at 6'0", Aaron Rodgers at 6'2", and Brady at 6'4"

But regardless of his height it would be idiotic to not use Tua's mobility. My biggest concern with him running is injury but there are QBs like Watson who are good at avoiding the big hits when they can and only being more physical when necessary. I hope Tua can learn those skills. But, QB runs aren't the only way to use his mobility. You can still move the pocket to create better throwing lanes and then he can obviously use his scramble ability. If I were Saban and co. I would call up the Seahawks because IIRC they practice the QB scramble in a specific way with their WRs (maybe they have secondary routes or something I can't remember) and they have found a ton of success with it.

Tua's delivery and anticipation will be his best tools to combat his height while in the pocket. I don't know if batted balls would be my biggest concern but it will still impact short and intermediate throws to some extent. If he really is 6'1" it should be less of a problem (also idk his arm length but that plays a role too).
 

TiderJack

Hall of Fame
Jul 9, 2010
12,232
6,263
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Inverness, AL
Does anyone have a good feel or reliable information on how tall Tua actually is? I think he is listed at 6'1" but would be curious how accurate that is. FWIW, Wilson is listed at 5'11", Brees at 6'0", Aaron Rodgers at 6'2", and Brady at 6'4"
Here is a photo of Jalen and Tua together and he appears to be a about an inch shorter than Jalen and I think Jalen is a true 6' 2". I think he is 6' 1" and that is tall enough.

 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
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Does anyone have a good feel or reliable information on how tall Tua actually is? I think he is listed at 6'1" but would be curious how accurate that is. FWIW, Wilson is listed at 5'11", Brees at 6'0", Aaron Rodgers at 6'2", and Brady at 6'4"

But regardless of his height it would be idiotic to not use Tua's mobility. My biggest concern with him running is injury but there are QBs like Watson who are good at avoiding the big hits when they can and only being more physical when necessary. I hope Tua can learn those skills. But, QB runs aren't the only way to use his mobility. You can still move the pocket to create better throwing lanes and then he can obviously use his scramble ability. If I were Saban and co. I would call up the Seahawks because IIRC they practice the QB scramble in a specific way with their WRs (maybe they have secondary routes or something I can't remember) and they have found a ton of success with it.

Tua's delivery and anticipation will be his best tools to combat his height while in the pocket. I don't know if batted balls would be my biggest concern but it will still impact short and intermediate throws to some extent. If he really is 6'1" it should be less of a problem (also idk his arm length but that plays a role too).
Articles discussing Tua winning the Elite 11 MVP list him at 6'1. Pretty sure Elite 11 and The Opening provide those measurements, so the 6'1 provided by UA seems right.
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
20,932
15,935
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His footwork will alleviate some of the concern. He's probably closer to 6 ft. even. He's slightly shorter than Jalen. But I'm not worried about it either.

Speaking of his footwork. If you watch the video series Matt Wyatt has done you can see how good his footwork in the pocket really is. I know he's worked on it, but it also seems like it's second nature to his innate skills. In one of the breakdowns, Wyatt notes how he had to step up into the pocket to throw a screen pass. He regularly steps up in the pocket or to the side and he creates his own throwing lanes.

I just don't think it's something to worry over.
 

Ole Man Dan

Hall of Fame
Apr 21, 2008
8,982
3,421
187
Gadsden, Al.
Saban has said this numerous times since the championship game. I think this is him tipping his hand a bit as to who is the front runner and odds on favorite to be the QB.
My read on the coaches comments is that going into the Spring Practices, Jalen will need to show a marked improvement in his passing ability to move back into the lead.
WE HAVE AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES AT QUARTERBACK...

Tua has proved to be the better passer, and no slouch when it's time to run the ball.
Jalen has proved himself to be one of the better Quarterbacks who can run the ball.
We can win most games with either. A few late season games will require more passing...
WE WILL SEE HOW BOTH GUYS HOLD UP UNDER THE PRESSURE.
 

Bamabuzzard

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If when the season starts, if both of these quarterbacks are getting significant playing time during games I will be completely shocked. We have one quarterback who can basically do everything you need for a quarterback to do and one who can can't. Outside of Jalen making eye popping, remarkable improvements in the offseason. Why even bother with a two quarterback system? The downside is much greater than any positives we would stand to gain. I hope this doesn't happen.
 

Loam

All-SEC
Oct 20, 2014
1,165
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How a tall a QB is these days has become irrelevant due to the nature of how offensive schemes and play calling have evolved over the years. The only reason it was relevant back in the day is because QBs were more or less full time drop back pocket QB's. Now days, a lot of offenses are ran out of the shotgun with a ton of east and west going on.
 

PA Tide Fan

All-American
Dec 11, 2014
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With a 2 QB system couldn't opposing teams just load the box when Jalen is in there and drop guys out of the box when Tua is in there? Would we have Jalen in there on running downs and Tua on passing downs? Seems to me it wouldn't be too difficult for opponents to prepare for. A 2 QB system may have worked years ago but with the advances made in the game of football it might be less effective now.
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
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With a 2 QB system couldn't opposing teams just load the box when Jalen is in there and drop guys out of the box when Tua is in there? Would we have Jalen in there on running downs and Tua on passing downs? Seems to me it wouldn't be too difficult for opponents to prepare for. A 2 QB system may have worked years ago but with the advances made in the game of football it might be less effective now.
Bama would still pass the ball with Jalen at QB. Tim Tebow wasn't used solely as a running QB during his Freshman year. Same situation applies here.
 

Bamabuzzard

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Bama would still pass the ball with Jalen at QB. Tim Tebow wasn't used solely as a running QB during his Freshman year. Same situation applies here.
I'm still not sure what advantage using them both during games would bring. Jalen isn't any better of a runner than Tua, he maybe faster at top in speed. But Tua is quicker behind the LOS. Tua runs the RPO's better. From a passing standpoint the moment you bring Jalen in, the effectiveness of any passing game goes down. Jalen doesn't bring a skill set to the field that Tua doesn't already have in some capacity. Again, I don't see the benefit. I see more downside.
 

RollTide_HTTR

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2017
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Saban has never done this and I would be surprised but not sure he has had 2 QB's quite like this.
To be fair, the last few times I have heard people say "Saban has never done this" he ended up doing it.(Starting a true freshman QB and replacing his starting QB with a true freshman in the NCG). The response I had to both of those was "he's never had this situation before" and I think that may apply here as well.

Not saying its a sure thing but I think this situation is unique and I bet Saban is open to the possibility.
 

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