Nick Saban plans to keep playing both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts all season

Bamabuzzard said:

Earle do you think Jalen has now re-evaluated his future plans to be an NFL player and possibly is thinking about the coaching route?

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They'll love him in the CFL while he does his Warren Moon tour of duty then (maybe) gets into the NFL.

TIDE-HSV said:

It is my understanding that Jalen's actions are not consonant with what his dad would prefer...

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As a complete outsider to the situation, that seems very apparent to me. At some point, we all have to stand on our own.

MOAN said:

Jalen is a better QB now because of Tua and I believe Dan Enos as well. How much better could he be if he finishes his college career with them? Maybe his best path to being an NFL QB in the future!

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Absolutely right. Jalen is learning from Tua and Enos. Also, he's probably much more relaxed without the pressure of a QB battle. He has done much better this season, obviously he's nowhere near Tua's level and won't be, but he at least is improving , probably at a faster rate than if he were the starter. It's also obvious in this article that CNS knows very well who is starter is and should be. When he talks about doing the best for the team, he's has to be talking about Tua. But, in my opinion, in fairness to Tua , he deserves to play more than he has so far.

Jalen Hurts is better off for still being here. He actually looks like a college passer now, he just got passed up by a guy who could end up being a Russell Wilson or Peyton Manning type in the pros. He may lose a year with his next team but he's going to be a ton more successful wherever he goes because he is actually making reads beyond his presnap 1st option. He doesn't have happy feet and he stay in the pocket long enough to deliver the open guy.

Bamabuzzard said:

Earle do you think Jalen has now re-evaluated his future plans to be an NFL player and possibly is thinking about the coaching route?

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I will share my thoughts on this. Absolutely, no. He wants to play in the NFL. Now whether that is at QB or another position is yet to be determined. But I do know he is working his tail off with CDE to keep getting better as a QB.

rgw said:

Jalen Hurts is better off for still being here. He actually looks like a college passer now, he just got passed up by a guy who could end up being a Russell Wilson or Peyton Manning type in the pros. He may lose a year with his next team but he's going to be a ton more successful wherever he goes because he is actually making reads beyond his presnap 1st option. He doesn't have happy feet and he stay in the pocket long enough to deliver the open guy.

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Not really sure that's true. Haven't actually see that this year. All the good throws he's made have been on his first read. If it's not there, it breaks down. I think his pre-snap assesment has gotten a lot better and he is more accurate with the ball. I think post snap he's doing the same thing.

Would I be crazy to believe Jalen isn’t leaving period??? (Call me crazy, but it is an option regardless of what his father might say in the media) If he stays or goes I think he still would get the same opportunity in the NFL, more so if he stayed at Bama...thoughts anyone?

One thing to add is that it isn't out of the question that Hurts still redshirt the following season. I think there's a number of coaches in the country that would happily agree to redshirt and go ahead with the senior starter or what ever. So, Hurts can still play the start me or I redshirt card next season, that doesn't go away. The pressure also won't be the same at another school, so keeping his redshirt on would be easier. Alabama has far less incentive to do something like that because the stakes are so high.

Intl.Aperture said:

Not really sure that's true. Haven't actually see that this year. All the good throws he's made have been on his first read. If it's not there, it breaks down. I think his pre-snap assesment has gotten a lot better and he is more accurate with the ball. I think post snap he's doing the same thing.

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^^^^THIS

John Doe's most recent Ole Miss breakdown showed several plays where #2 STILL does not see and/or throw to WIDE OPEN 2nd and 3rd options.

I like Jalen. He's a great guy by most all accounts but even with the new coaching he still can't keep his eyes downfield if his 1st option is a bust. He's just not a top shelf QB. Awesome athlete/playmaker.... not a QB.

My overall opinion hasn't changed. Mac Jones should be getting the 2nd string snaps and experience.

tusks_n_raider said:

Mac Jones should be getting the 2nd string snaps and experience.

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So uhh what's John Doe's breakdown on Mac's reads? He's 1/5 by the way, so not a whole lot to go on, but I'm good with Hurts. The game is safe in his hands.

If Jalen appears to show any improvement we can't be sure if it's from studying Tua or simply because he's more comfortable entering the game with a big lead.

KrAzY3 said:

So uhh what's John Doe's breakdown on Mac's reads? He's 1/5 by the way, so not a whole lot to go on, but I'm good with Hurts. The game is safe in his hands.

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I know this is sarcastic but I'll reply anyway....

His opinion is that Mac is playing with the 2nd/3rd string and has had no time to throw. Yet that 1 completion he got JACKED and still dropped a dime on the sideline.

Mac needs some playing time with the 1's to improve and get better but his ceiling as a passer dwarfs Jalen.

tusks_n_raider said:

his ceiling as a passer dwarfs Jalen.

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That's operating under the pretense that Jalen has already neared his. Truth if we don't really know, he's always been raw as a passer, that's something he wanted to work on from day 1. Look at Kyle Murray, he was a mess at Texas A&M, now he's developed, and he's a Heisman candidate. He's 21 now though and clearly his time on the bench and getting quality coaching did wonders for him. I don't see why Hurts becomes exempted from that, he just turned 20.

KrAzY3 said:

That's operating under the pretense that Jalen has already neared his. Truth if we don't really know, he's always been raw as a passer, that's something he wanted to work on from day 1. Look at Kyle Murray, he was a mess at Texas A&M, now he's developed, and he's a Heisman candidate. He's 21 now though and clearly his time on the bench and getting quality coaching did wonders for him. I don't see why Hurts becomes exempted from that, he just turned 20.

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Because he’s shown almost no improvement in his areas of weakness. He either has a vision problem and/or an unwillingness to throw to WIDE OPEN 2nd, 3rd, 4th reads etc.

There was a play in the Ole Miss game where he rolled right and had TWO guys WIDE OPEN trailing across the middle to the right with him....either throw was a TD and Hurts just ran like usual.

Just about every single time he runs on a passing play you can find at least 1 if not 2 people waiving their hands WIDE OPEN and he either does not see them somehow even when it looks like he’s staring right at them being open.... and/or he refuses to throw it even though he sees them because he’d rather run.

How’s he going to magically improve this after 2.5 years of doing the same thing over and over and over and over and he’s STILL doing it. He’s started almost 30 games.... he’s not a true freshman anymore.....he has Junior/Senior level experience/playing time.

If Mac Jones has the same kind of time to throw behind the 1st string O-Line he’s going make those attempts. He will see them and throw it. I can’t guarantee the result will be 100% perfect but I can say he won’t eat the ball/run from the pocket with open WR’s flagging him down.

The kid can sling the football. He deserves the chance to develop some instead of handoff duty. If he he fails then fair enough he got his shot.

Jalen has had 2+ years of getting a shot and is maybe marginally better than HS if not straight the same. He’s just flat not a QB.

TIDE-HSV said:

Um, you're ignoring what his father said. Like it or not, most people assume that a father speaks for the family, including the son. I think Jalen made it clear to CNS that he spoke for himself, no matter what his father said - or, for that matter, wanted him to do...

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Wasn't ignoring his father as much as focusing on the fact that Jalen himself has been consistent: I'm going to be here for this entire season. IMO, when he made his complaint, "no one asked me what I thought", his father's comments were probably part of that to which he was referring, though IMO, he was primarily referring to the media, then he added "also, the coaches". I understand and agree that it's generally assumed that a father speaks for the family, but I don't think that's what CNS was referring to when he made his "I don't know" comment. But who knows for sure his motive? But the primary fact is that Jalen wants to finish this season with the program.

tusks_n_raider said:

How’s he going to magically improve this after 2.5 years of doing the same thing over and over and over and over and he’s STILL doing it. He’s started almost 30 games....

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You answered your own question. Clearly he's not going to do it by starting. He's never had a chance to learn like he has this year, he's just always been asked to go out there and get it done somehow. I don't understand how some people completely discount the learning aspects of the position and think just being on the field magically confers all this knowledge through osmosis.

My thought about the situation is how does Tua feel about this? I'm not concerned so much about the Heisman but I wonder if Tua would like more playing time before Jalen comes in. I'm reasonably sure that Coach Saban discussed his plan with both of them. I sure hope he did.