50 greatest SEC football players this century, ranked
By Nick Villano
Best SEC football players this century – 6. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama, Quarterback (2017-2019)
Tua Tagovailoa had a legitimate chance to be first on this list before a major injury to his hip ended his college football career. He was on the way to being one of the most talented quarterbacks in SEC history. He still put together a special career and it may come as a surprise that he’s the best player from Alabama on this list.
Tagovailoa made the jump to starter thanks to circumstance alone. He was clearly talented, but until he got some playing time in garbage time in his freshman season did Nick Saban see what he could do under center. Then, Saban put Tua in at quarterback in the middle of the College Football National Championship Game against Georgia. He threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns in the second half, helped Alabama regain the championship and he earned MVP honors for the game. He threw his last touchdown in overtime to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith.
Tagovailoa went into the next season as the clear starter despite Jalen Hurts still being on the roster. He ended up throwing for just under 4,000 yards and 43 touchdowns. He finished in second for the Heisman Trophy to Kyler Murray, but he still won the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award and he beat out Murray as the All-American at quarterback. He suffered a high-ankle sprain that clearly put him back against Georgia in the SEC Title Game, but he eventually recovered to put up a dominant performance against Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Even after a loss to Clemson in the national championship, Tagovailoa put up a college football record 199 passer rating on the season.
Of course, he was supposed to be the dominant player in the 2019 season. Alabama just lost to that special LSU team despite Tagovailoa throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns. We were all ready for them to meet again in the College Football Playoff, but he got hurt in the very next game against Mississippi State despite Alabama holding a huge lead. Saban left his quarterback in, he got hit and a major hip injury ended his career on a sour note.