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With Alabama’s spring football practice set to begin Friday, BamaInsider is previewing each position on offense and defense. We begin our previews today with the quarterbacks.
It’s a little bit strange to head into spring practice without a quarterback battle. However, Alabama won’t be complaining. After five straight years of quarterback questioning, the Crimson Tide enters camp knowing its man. Of course, that’s a given as Tua Tagovailoa returns for his junior year after finishing runner-up for the Heisman last season.
Alabama said goodbye to Jalen Hurts this offseason as the former SEC Offensive Player of the Year transferred to Oklahoma. Despite losing its beloved backup, Alabama is still solid at the position as Mac Jones returns for his redshirt sophomore year while the Crimson Tide brought in two four-star freshmen in Lia Tagovailoa and Paul Tyson.
Returning players
Can Tua deliver an encore performance to his stellar sophomore season? Last year, the left-hander earned both the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards, completing 69 percent of his passes for 3,966 yards and a school-record 43 touchdowns with six interceptions. He also added 190 yards and five more scores on the ground to set the school record for most combined touchdowns with 48.
This season, he returns along with the majority of an offense that averaged 45.6 points and 522 total yards per game. While it’s hard to imagine Tua topping last season’s performance, he should be able to further his assault on Alabama’s record books this season.
This will be a big year for Jones, who steps into the primary backup role with the absence of Hurts. Jones saw limited action behind center last season, completing 5 of 13 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. The highlight of his year came on a 94-yard touchdown to Jaylen Waddle, marking the second-longest passing touchdown in program history.
Last season proved how crucial the backup quarterback position can be. With Tua’s speckled injury history, Alabama will need to know it can rely on Jones in crucial situations if needed.
