Has the decision been officially made? whether or not Alabama head coach Nick Saban wants to confirm it or not, Saban has confirmed Tua Tagovailoa will get the start for the second straight week this weekend. While Tagovailoa will be the team’s starter, Saban did not rule out finding times to use Jalen Hurts.
“Everyone knows that Tua is going to start and we’re going to use Jalen’s skill set in the future,” Saban said, per ESPN.com. “Now we know and you know.”
Saban caught some heat for the way he handled postgame questions about what he learned about the quarterback play in a 51-14 victory over Louisville in Orlando on Saturday. Saban has been rather rough with questions about the quarterback situation all offseason and still remains a bit stern about the topic.
Tagovailoa seemed to outplay Hurts in the season opener. Tagovailoa completed 12 of 16 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 26 yards and another touchdown, while Hurts completed five of nine passes for 70 yards and rushed for nine yards.
Saban said he is not taking into consideration the new redshirt rule as a way to manipulate Hurts’ eligibility (the new rule allows players to preserve a year of eligibility by appearing in no more than four games in a season).
Alabama hosts Arkansas State this Saturday.