Nick Saban Talks Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts Ahead of Sunday Clash

Tagovailoa and Hurts were both in Alabama's quarterback room from 2017-2018. Now the two will play against each other on the biggest stage this Sunday night.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There was a quarterback battle five years ago in Tuscaloosa that will go down in history.

Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts are two of the most beloved players in Alabama football history, and for good reason. Tagovailoa threw 87 touchdowns in his Crimson Tide career, including 43 in his record-breaking 2018 season. Before him, it was Hurts that went 26-2 as a starting quarterback in two seasons.

Of course, Tagovailoa replaced Hurts in Alabama's national championship victory over Georgia in 2017-18. Then, Hurts replaced an injured and struggling Tagovailoa against Georgia in the SEC championship the following year — leading the Crimson Tide to a comeback victory to ensure the program a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Now, both Tagovailoa and Hurts are having a great amount of success at the NFL level, and it's no surprise to their former head coach.

"I've never had two players that were really, really good players at the same position who actually supported each other the way those two guys supported each other when they were here," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said on Wednesday's SEC teleconference. "And I think that comes from mutual respect and both guys being great team guys, and putting the team before their own personal feelings."

"The psychological support that they gave each other in every circumstance is something that I think is really, really special, and I'm sure they have the same feeling about each other. I know they're both great competitors, so they're going to go do what they have to do for their team. But I do think there will be a mutual respect by both guys."

Hurts ended his career at Oklahoma, finishing runner-up for the Heisman. Saban said that most of his growth as a passer came in 2018 at Alabama, when he was actually sitting behind Tagovailoa.

"I had a meeting with [Hurts] and said, 'Look, if you want to play in the NFL someday, you have a great opportunity every day in practice to improve as a passer — improve your reading, reading the coverages, reading the defense, better anticipation — all those things. If you do that, it's going to help your development tremendously. So don't be frustrated that you may not be starting in some games, but when you get opportunities, you're going to be a much better player because you made an improvement in all those areas.'"

"He took that and did a great job with it, and I think he made a significant amount of progress. I've said before that he probably improved more the year he didn't play than the years he did — as a passer."

Tagovailoa and Hurts will go against each other for the first time on NBC's Sunday Night Football tilt between the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.

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