Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
THE STORYLINE
One of the most interesting quarterback battles is about to take place at Alabama and it pits a wildly successful and talented
Jalen Hurts, who was replaced at halftime of the national championship game, and an incredibly skilled Tua Tagovailoa, who sparked the Crimson Tide offense in the title matchup against Georgia.
Coach Nick Saban has an embarrassment of riches on his hands at quarterback, but only one can be the starter.
Tagovailoa entered the Alabama-Georgia game in the third quarter with the Tide trailing 13-0 and engineered an overtime victory by throwing three touchdown passes and looking like he could have been the starter all season. He was comfortable in the pocket, threw excellent passes and looked like a future star.
But lost in all this is that Hurts is hardly chopped liver. He threw for 17 touchdowns and only one interception last season while also rushing for eight scores. The former four-star was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year as a freshman. Hurts has led Alabama to back-to-back title games.
The thought that Hurts must switch positions or that Tagovailoa is a shoe-in to be named the starter seems premature. But if Tagovailoa wins the job, will Hurts switch positions immediately or stick it out? If Hurts wins the job, what does a talented kid like Tagovailoa do?
FIRST TAKE: TONY TSOUKALAS, INSIDEBAMA.COM
“Jalen Hurts is 26-2 as a starting quarterback and was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in his first season. Sure, he had a good team around him, but you don’t just stumble into two national championships without a competent quarterback behind center.
“Last year Hurts didn’t show the improvement Alabama fans were hoping for. However, he didn’t have a bad year by any means. Here’s a look at two Alabama quarterbacks who won national titles in their sophomore years:
“Quarterback A: 13 games, 2,634 passing yards, 66.8 percent completion percentage, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions, minus-22 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns.
“Quarterback B: 14 games, 2,081 passing yards, 60.6 percent completion percentage, 17 touchdowns, one interception, 855 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns.
“If you took Quarterback B — and you should have based on production — you chose Hurts. However, Quarterback A is
AJ McCarron, arguably Alabama’s best passer of all-time. The following season, McCarron went on to pass for 2,933 yards and 30 touchdowns with three interceptions while leading Alabama to a second straight championship. Who’s to say Hurts couldn’t take the same step?
“The biggest difference between Hurts and McCarron is the person backing them up. Neither
Blake Sims nor Phillip Sims — McCarron’s two backups — possessed the same talent as current backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. It takes rare poise and ability to come off the bench as a freshman in the national championship game and pick apart one of the nation’s top defenses. Through brief glimpses, Tagovailoa has shown that he might very well be the most complete quarterback Alabama has ever had.
“That’s what makes this spring’s competition so interesting. Alabama has two really good options to choose from. If Hurts loses the competition, he will have to make a decision between serving as a backup, switching positions or transferring. Given his ability and track record, there will be no shortage of suitors if he does ultimately choose the latter.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARREL, RIVALS.COM
“Hurts should compete for the starting job. People are making a ton out of this. This is a guy who lost two games as a starter, led them to a national championship game last year and this year. Had the defense not folded, Alabama would have won the national championship two seasons ago.
“He hasn’t come along as much as we’d like when it comes to throwing the football but he shouldn’t just give up and switch positions. He should compete for the job.
“Tua was impressive, but that doesn’t mean he’s the guy and you throw away Hurts. His resume is too impressive, he has too many skills to, at the very least, compete for the job and be utilized in certain packages. Everybody is giving the job to Tua immediately is basing it on one game.”
