Maybe this will put an end to the transfer speculation?
Earlier this month, Nick Saban added to the “will he or won’t he transfer” rumors by stating “I have no idea.” after being asked at the SEC Media Days last week if Jalen Hurts will be on the roster for the opener. Nearly a week later, Saban told ESPN that his comments on Hurts’ status led to the quarterback coming to him and clarifying his current state of mind.
“Jalen actually came to me and said ... ‘I am going to be here. I am going to be here,’” the Alabama head coach said by way of al.com. “‘I came here to get an education. I graduate in December, and I’m going to be here.’”
If that holds, the competition involving Hurts, a two-year starter at quarterback for the Crimson Tide, and national championship game hero Tua Tagovailoa will be rejoined when summer camp kicks off early next month. It is, though, the continuation of one of the more headline-dominating storylines of the 2018 offseason, one that actually began during the final game of the 2017 season as the true freshman Tagovailoa exploded onto the national scene with his late-game heroics.
Hurts’ father made headlines in April when he stated that, if his son lost his starting job, “he’d be the biggest free agent in college football history.” A month later, Tagovailoa admitted in an interview that he would’ve transferred from the Tide if he hadn’t gotten to play in the College Football Playoff title game.
Not long after Averion Hurts‘ claims, Saban stated that he had a “very positive meeting” with the player’s father, adding that he didn’t “think there’s an issue or a problem from my standpoint.”
Because of a hand injury suffered early on and a subsequent surgery, Tagovailoa was very limited throughout spring practice earlier this year. Hurts, meanwhile, took the majority of snaps in Tagovailoa’s absence, although he did incur the wrath of Saban during an uneven spring-game performance.