Alabama spring grade out: Quarterback
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Alabama finished its spring camp last month revealing an early preview of what to expect in the coming season. We will break down each position, sharing what we saw and expect for this year. Today we begin our spring evaluations with the quarterback position.
Biggest thing we learned: Hurts improved as a passer
For the first time since 2013 Alabama opened spring camp with a returning starter at quarterback. Jalen Hurts put together a stellar freshman season last year, earning SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors after passing for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions and rushing for 954 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns. His 36 combined touchdowns broke a school record of 35 set by former Alabama quarterback Blake Sims in 2014.
Still, there were plenty of questions surrounding Hurts’ ability to distribute the ball downfield and in the intermediate passing game. Alabama head coach Nick Saban admitted to protecting Hurts last season by building an offense that played specifically to his strengths.
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“I think last year – the most difficult thing for a young quarterback to do is probably be a drop-back passer,” Saban said during spring camp. “So we try and create ways, and I’m being very positive, and I was in agreement with what we did, to try to create ways that we could throw the ball, make explosive plays in the passing game without doing a whole lot of drop backs. Call it what you will, but it was because he was a freshman and we didn’t want to ask him to do a lot of things that he wasn’t comfortable doing.”
This spring, Hurts appeared more comfortable in the pocket and demonstrated better ability with deeper passes. That was evident during the A-Day game, where he completed 16 of 25 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Six of those passes went for 20 yards or more, including a 65-yard touchdown to Robert Foster and a 37-yard touchdown to Calvin Ridley.
“Definitely from last season, he's improved a whole lot,” Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick said during spring camp. “He's working on his accuracy and his deep ball a whole lot. You can tell he's got more strength in his arm. He's making better decisions with the football.”
Biggest spring concern: Does Alabama have enough depth behind Hurts?
Despite Hurts’ solid showing this spring, there are still question marks surrounding the position if he were to go down to injury at any point next season. After Hurts won the starting job last fall, Alabama saw its three other quarterbacks — Blake Barnett, Cooper Bateman and David Cornwell — all transfer out of the program. That leaves early enrollees Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones as the Crimson Tide’s only two options off the bench.
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Tagovailoa alleviated much of the concern over Alabama’s depth at the position with a dominating performance on A-Day. The Hawaiian left-hander completed 17 of 29 passes for 313 yards and an interception while working primarily against Alabama’s second-team defense in the scrimmage. Despite a productive spring, Jones looked less polished on A-Day, completing just 5 of 11 passes for 45 yards and two interceptions.
Due to the dual-threat nature of Hurts’ game, he will undoubtedly receive plenty of hits next season. Alabama will want to know if he does go down, it has a capable replacement ready to step in. Right now that would appear to be Tagovailoa.
Hurts proved last season that a talented true freshman can have success in the SEC. However, that’s probably not a path Alabama wants to travel down again in the near future.
Biggest spring surprise: Tagovailoa looks to be the real deal
While depth might be Alabama’s biggest concern, that doesn’t mean the Tide isn’t optimistic with what it's seen from Tagovailoa. The 6-foot-1, 219-pound freshman delivers a tight spiral and showed an ability to fit balls into narrow spaces this spring. Like Hurts, he was also effective in the downfield passing game during A-Day, connecting on seven passes of 20 yards or more.
"He's a real good quarterback, he's smart,” Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley said during spring camp. “He could get a lot more comfortable but he's a good football player and seems like he knows what he's doing. He knows how to move the ball down the field with the team, so I like him."
Tagovailoa has also already taken steps toward a leadership role on the team. During A-Day, he was seen rallying his offensive line after a series of three-and-outs during the second half. The poised freshman took the blame, shaking each lineman’s hand and stating that he would do a better job of getting the ball out.
“That’s tough coming in early,” Alabama tight end Miller Forristall said of Tagovailoa’s leadership. “It’s intimidating. Of course, we have both young guys stepping into that role, stepping up, playing quarterback, taking control of the huddle and the players they’re with.”
Looking ahead: Alabama will be stacked at quarterback moving forward
There’s no question about who will earn the starting quarterback position as Saban made it clear at the beginning of spring camp that Hurts will retain the role this season. Although, if Tagovailoa and Jones continue to progress, the Tide could be in for some fierce quarterback battles down the road.
With a trio of former four-star recruits at quarterback, Alabama is arguably as deep in talent as it has ever been at the position. That should translate to a more explosive offense next season as well as in the future.