Alabama Football: Spring Practice Day No.1 – Quarterback
By Ronald Evans
Alabama football begins the 2017 spring practice season Tuesday, March 21. Jalen Hurts is firmly established as the starter. The big question is who will be No. 2.
For any Alabama football fans thinking the quarterback position is undecided for 2017 – think again. Barring injury, Jalen Hurts will start on Sept. 2 against FSU.
Sure there will be a spring and fall camp quarterback competition – sort of. The younger gunslingers will try their best to beat out Hurts. Tua and Mac have considerable skills and either or both can be future Alabama football stars. Just not in 2017.
Tagovailoa and Jones will push Hurts. The competition will be valuable for all three. It is also important for at least one guy to be ready in case of an injury to Jalen.
Tua and Mac will have ample opportunity through the spring and early in fall camp to earn No. 2 status. In the process, they may gain considerable respect from their teammates. Given Jalen’s demeanor, he will provide sincere encouragement to both.
As Saban said, Jalen Hurts “won the team” early last season. He is the leader of the offense and neither backup is close to potentially usurping Jalen’s status. Hurts won the team but he won over Nick Saban as well. Saban’s comment on Jalen after the SEC Championship espn.com
"“And there’s two things that you really can’t coach. You can’t coach experience, and you can’t coach maturity, but this guy has maturity beyond his years.”"
The Alabama offense struggled late last season, and Jalen’s inconsistent downfield passing was partially to blame. But don’t take that too far. Jalen Hurts stats for 2016 were impressive.
He completed over 62 percent of his passes, though his completion rate was enhanced by the frequent use of jet sweeps and bubble screens. He threw 23 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions.
Hurts rushed for a net of 954 yards, with an almost five-yard average per carry. In total yards gained, he was the second-leading rusher on the Alabama football team.
Hurts post-season conference awards were more impressive secsports.com
- SEC Freshman of the Year
- SEC Offensive Player of the Year
In 2017 Alabama football needs a vertical passing game to augment last season’s horizontal passing game. More downfield passing success will also create more opportunities to bust long running plays.
Alabama Crimson Tide Football
Hurts downfield passing and his ability to check off to open receivers will need to improve in 2017. If he improves in those areas, he could become one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.
The big quarterback competition for 2017 will be who becomes No. 2 behind Jalen. Most fans expect Tua Tagovailoa to gain that job. Tua was a more highly rated recruit than Mac Jones, but both have great potential.
Jones may well be the more polished player and is perhaps already the best passer of the trio. Jones will need to add weight to his thin frame to avoid injury.
Once spring scrimmage reports become available, we’ll take a much closer a look at the battle for the No. 2 Tide quarterback.
Until then watch the video below. It is about half of Jalen Hurts’ 2016 highlights. Watch the video and ask yourself if anyone will beat out the Tide sophomore as the No. 1 QB.
Next: What Kind of Offense to Expect in 2017
Alabama football is back with the start of the 2017 spring season. Check in with us often as we review practice reports leading to the April 22 A-Day Game.