It’s officially official.
In a press release a short time ago, Alabama confirmed that Tua Tagovailoa has been diagnosed with a dislocated hip. While the school stated that the junior quarterback is expected to make a full recovery -- that actually qualifies as positive news given the direness of the initial reports -- it was also confirmed that he will miss the remainder of the 2019 season.
Per the release, Tagovailoa “is undergoing further testing to determine the best course of treatment.”
Left unsaid is whether Tagovailoa, who will be eligible to enter the 2020 NFL Draft, has played his final down for the Crimson Tide.
Tagovailoa suffered the hip injury toward the end of the first half of the Mississippi State game, still in the game despite Alabama leading 35-7. The junior quarterback, reportedly screaming in pain, was carted off the field and, after being examined inside Davis Wade Stadium, taken away via ambulance for further evaluation.
Tagovailoa was subsequently taken back to Birmingham via helicopter to undergo a series of CAT scans and MRIs to determine the exact extent and nature of the injury. According to one report, the injury is serious and similar to the one that ended Bo Jackson‘s football career. Another had him out for the season with the dislocated hip as well as “a posterior wall fracture.”
The Crimson Tide will turn over its playoff fate, at least under center, to Mac Jones. The redshirt sophomore has completed just over 64 percent of his 67 passes this season for 595 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Coming into 2019, he had attempted 13 passes in his collegiate career.