Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be out for the rest of the season with a dislocated hip and a posterior wall fracture.
It’s the worst possible news for the Yellowhammer State. Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending injury on Saturday afternoon against the SEC West division rival Mississippi State Bulldogs. Tagovailoa had to be carted off with a hip injury and could not put any pressure on his injured leg. He was flown from Starkville to Birmingham to be evaluated.
According to Aaron Suttles of W-JOX 94.5 in Birmingham, “Tua Tagovailoa is out for the season with a dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture.” This is beyond absolutely devastating news for the Crimson Tide. Tagovailoa will not play this season and this may be the last game he ever plays in Crimson Tide uniform, assuming he is still a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Frankly, worrying about Tagovailoa’s NFL Draft stock is the least of our worries. A hip injury to a football player is terrifying news. This sort of injury ruined former Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson‘s NFL career with the then-Los Angeles Raiders. Let’s hope that it doesn’t end Tagovailoa’s before it even got a fair shot at truly beginning.
As for what Alabama does next, it will have to win its next two games against the Western Carolina Catamounts at home next week before having to go on the road and face the arch rival Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl. Mac Jones will be the Crimson Tide starter the rest of the way and is likely to be the Alabama starter heading into 2020.
If there is any hope for the Crimson Tide to stay alive in the College Football Playoff race, Jones will have to be their new driving force on offense. Fortunately, he has gotten plenty of playing time this season due to Tagovailoa’s two leg injuries. Jones and the Crimson Tide should enjoy a cakewalk past Western Carolina, but beating Auburn down on The Plains is a totally different beast.
Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, not having Tagovailoa the rest of the way won’t help Alabama’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff as one of the four best teams. They simply won’t be one of the four best teams in college football without Tagovailoa. Alabama can be good with Jones, but the Crimson Tide are no longer championship-caliber in 2019.
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