Nick Saban regularly criticizes media members for what he feels are unworthy questions, and he was at it again this week at SEC Media Days.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are the gold standard in college football, with annual contention for a national title and multiple players going to the NFL each year. Nick Saban has led that run during his tenure, and he noted this week he’ll have a returning starting quarterback this year for the first time since 2013.
Jalen Hurts accounted for 36 touchdowns (23 passing, 13 rushing) as a freshman last year, with 2,780 passing yards and 954 rushing yards, on his way to winning SEC Offensive Player of the Year. Even with true freshman Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones coming in, Hurts has a firm hold on the starting job. But on the heels of a strong performance in Alabama’s spring game, a narrative advanced suggesting Tagovailoa could make a push to start.
When asked about the prospect of a quarterback controversy during his availability at SEC Media Days on Wednesday, Saban quickly shut it down.
Nick Saban goes off at SEC Media Days again! He also wants you to know he doesn't have a QB controversy! @rocketcitynow #SabanRANT #SECMD17 pic.twitter.com/0Klx4aAfrm
— Mo Carter (@MoCarterFOX54) July 12, 2017
In true Saban form, he chose to call out how much thought the reporter put into the question.
"“I was waiting for that one, man. That was like a hanging curveball.”"
As Saban said, the idea of a quarterback controversy would be news if he spoke about it. But who suggested Tagovailoa could play during the coming season? Well, albeit in a different setting with SEC Network’s Dari Nowkah, Saban himself did.
“We have total faith and confidence in the quarterback that we have, but we want to develop every player on our team and Tua has a lot of potential,” Saban said. “We want to continue to develop him. If we feel like he can play winning football, I think it’s going to be important for us to allow him to do that; so, if he gets in a situation that he needs to play, he’s going to be able to play winning football for us. We want to continue his development and a part of that development is he needs to play in games. So, to answer your question, absolutely.”
Alabama won eight games by at least 28 points last year, and another three by 18 or more points. So Tagovailoa may see the field a fair amount as a freshman, with three non-conference layups (Fresno State, Colorado State and Mercer) possibly bringing a half or more of game action.
Next: SEC Media Days 2017: 5 notable quotes from Day 3
It’s a long way from Tagovailoa playing in special situations and blowouts, to legitimately pushing Hurts to start games. The question about a quarterback controversy came before what he told Nowkah, but Saban still came off as arrogant and petulant once again.