Heisman Rankings 2018: Top 20 Heisman Trophy candidates

The Alabama Crimson Tide are once again the favorite to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game this season, but they have a long road ahead of them. The SEC boasts some of the most talented teams in the country, and since college football moved to a playoff system, no team has an easy track to win it all.

When it comes to the 2018 Crimson Tide, a lot has been made of the quarterback battle between Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts. Hurts led Alabama to the national title game as a freshman last season, but they lost to the Clemson Tigers. Alabama looked to be on their way to another loss this past season, but Tagovailoa stepped in and led the Crimson Tide to the title.

During that game, Tua replaced Hurts in the second half, threw for three touchdowns, and was named the game’s Offensive MVP. As he enters the 2018 campaign, he is the likely choice to be the team’s starter, which means he will have a ton of national exposure, and if he plays well on the big stage, could be in the Heisman mix at the end of the season.

Only two members of the Crimson Tide program have gone on to win the Heisman, and they were both running backs. Mark Ingram won the award back in 2009, and Derrick Henry won in 2015, so Tua would be the first quarterback in the program’s illustrious history to hoist one of the most coveted awards in sports.

While technically he is still involved in a battle to be the team’s starter with Hurts, it is becoming more evident that it is going to be Tagovailoa’s team going forward. The Crimson Tide have the talent to be the best team in the country again in 2018, and based on the small sample we saw from Tua last season, he could be in for a magical run.