The Tua Tagovailoa Era At Alabama

By Reed Tobin 

Twitter: @reed_tobin

The belligerently drunk Alabama fans next to me let out a scream loud enough to kill an infant. The Alabama Crimsonettes seductively danced as the Million Dollar Band blasted “Dixieland Delight”. The new, immaculate Mercedes-Benz Stadium was a sea of crimson and white confetti. The true freshman and Hawaiian prodigy, Tua Tagovailoa, just threw a 50-yard bomb to win Alabama the national championship and cement his name in college football history.

But let’s flashback to halftime. Alabama is down 13-0 and Georgia looks as if they have the championship in the bag. It’s a miracle Alabama is still even in this game. Kirby Smart’s defense has the struggling Crimson Tide on the ropes. Nothing is working for Alabama offensively (credit that mostly to Jalen Hurts’ inability to throw a football accurately beyond five yards). Nick Saban has been exceedingly conservative all year by starting the more experienced, less talented Hurts over Tagovailoa. 

This move had worked out well considering Alabama is in the National Championship, yet again. But down big, Saban is forced to make a career-defining move. He benches his two-year starter, who has only lost two games in his career, for a true freshman, who has never started a college game, in the biggest game of the year. 

This is unheard of. I mean, who does this? But damn it all if it wasn’t the right move.

Tua "Big Balls" Tagovailoa comes in and throws three clutch touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, in a game where Hurts struggled to take Alabama past their own 50-yard line. You can’t ask for anything more from an inexperienced 19-year-old kid. Tagovailoa was on a roll the entirety of the second half and single-handedly saved the season. Why there is even a quarterback debate going into the 2018-2019 season is beyond me.

Hurts is so overwhelmingly mediocre it "hurts". He was the 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, posted a 26-2 record in his first two years, and has led the Crimson Tide to consecutive National Championship games. However, a fourth grader could rake-in these same stats and accomplishments effortlessly with the surrounding cast Alabama provides.

Quarterback might be the most crucial position in all of sports, and an elite quarterback can take a team to the promise land. Look at the NFL for example. Green Bay has consistently been a contender, and it’s not because of how complete their team is or that they have a savvy coaching staff, it’s because they have a generational talent, Aaron Rodgers, behind center. 

It’s a popular belief that a team’s success is solely based on the performance of its quarterback. While this is factual when dealing with teams that have an elite quarterback that they rely heavily on, more complete teams like Alabama are fortunate enough to overpower their opponent no matter who they have touching the center’s balls.

Saban has built a dynasty at the Alabama rivaled by no other in the history of college football. He demands and receives perfection out of every position except quarterback on his teams. Talents like Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, Reuben Foster, and Jonathan Allen come to play in Tuscaloosa every year, yet the best quarterback to come through this prestigious program is who? Aj McCarron? Greg McElroy? While it would be foolish of me to question six time national champion Nick Saban’s ways, it is undeniable that Alabama could be even better if they received more production out of their quarterbacks.

Tagovailoa provides just that. The Crimson Tide with even an adequate quarterback would be groundbreaking and dangerous next year, but throw a game changer like Tagovailoa into the mix, and you’re looking at the best team in the history of college football.