How much better can Tua Tagovailoa be? Nick Saban issues a challenge

After falling short at the end of last season, Nick Saban has challenged Tua Tagovailoa to reach a new level in 2019.

Tua Tagovailoa had a great 2018 campaign, on his way to finishing as the Heisman runner-up, but Nick Saban wants him to be even better in 2019. Tagovailoa tailed off at the end of last season, leaving the SEC Championship Game vs. Georgia with an ankle injury. Then, he had the worst game of his career in the 44-16 loss in the National Championship Game to Clemson.

Saban wants Tagovailoa to make sure that doesn’t repeat itself this year.

Tagovailoa set an FBS record for passer rating last season (199.44), while throwing for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns. But four of his six interceptions for the season came against Georgia and Clemson.

Finishing as the national title runner-up, even with a one-sided margin, would be a resounding success for most football programs around the country. But for Alabama, it’ll go down as a disappointment, and speaking at the SEC spring meetings on Tuesday, Saban made sure the players, led by Tagovailoa, know it clearly.

"I think that he has to challenge himself to get back into great shape and overcome some of the things that happened toward the end of the year,” “And I think he should take the perception that he has a lot to prove relative to how we ended the season.”“I think the whole team fits into that category,"

Saban spoke to Paul Finebaum and suggested a focus on outcomes over process was a distraction for Tagovailoa last season.

"He had a tremendous amount of success last year. He’s a great person, a great competitor. But I think at some point in time or when you start thinking about outcomes … outcomes can be a distraction. Whether you want to win awards for yourself or you just want to win a championship for your team.“And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with either one of those things, but when you start focusing on outcomes, it’s sort of a distraction, because you really need to focus on what you need to do to get the outcome."

Tagovailoa is the among the candidates to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and to win the Heisman. But there is room for improvement, even taking into account the ankle injury that seemed to derail the end of last season, and there isn’t an experienced backup like Jalen Hurts on the Crimson Tide roster this year.

If Tagovailoa spends his summer in the weight room getting stronger and getting his body right, he could avoid some of the nagging injuries he faced last year. Expectations are high as they always are in Tuscaloosa. If Tagovailoa rises to the challenge and delivers on what Saban is looking for, he could bring another Heisman and another title back to Tuscaloosa.