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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban isn’t commenting about how he’ll use backup quarterback Jalen Hurts, but that doesn’t mean people have stopped asking. During his Wednesday news conference, Saban was questioned what Hurts’ role will be moving forward. Showing his frustration, the head coach elected to keep that information to himself.
"Look, what we do with Jalen Hurts internally is going to be decided internally,” Saban said. “If I was going to tell you, I'd just call the other coach and tell him what we were going to do. Is that fair?"
Monday, Saban announced that he will start Tua Tagovailoa against Arkansas State but said he plans “to use Jalen's skill-set in the future to help however we feel that he can benefit the team.”
Tagovailoa earned his first career start against Louisville last week, completing 12 of 16 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns while adding 26 yards and another score on the ground. He played in the game’s first four series before being replaced by Hurts in the second quarter. Hurts then failed to lead Alabama to points on two consecutive drives before Tagovailoa came back into the game to lead Alabama to a touchdown with nine seconds remaining in the half. After re-entering the game in the second half, Hurts finished the night 5 of 9 for 70 yards through the air.
Since Tagovailoa was named the starter, there has been speculation over how much Hurts will play this season. A new NCAA rule allows players to play in up to four games while still being eligible to redshirt. Hurts, who is on pace to graduate this December, would have two years left of eligibility if he elected to redshirt this season. However, when asked about the rule Monday, Saban expressed concern over how the dynamics of only playing Hurts in certain games would play out.
“I don’t know how you can do that,” Saban said. “I don’t know how a player really can pick or choose when he wants to play and have any respect for his teammates if everyone is committed to the team and doing what they want to do best for the team.”
Alabama plays Arkansas State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT in its home-opener inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be aired nationally on ESPN2.
