Alabama Football: On All-SEC selections, no love for Tua and the Heisman

Justifiably so, Alabama football got the most love at SEC Media Days. In the All-SEC picks, Tua got no love despite being a Heisman favorite.

Alabama football was again picked to win the SEC by media members at SEC Media Days. Crimson Tide fans appreciate the acknowledgment even though the SEC media routinely gets the pick wrong. According to Alex Scarbrough, the media has predicted the SEC champion correctly only six times since 1992.

Alabama football also led the way in All-SEC picks. The Crimson Tide had 13 players chosen on the three teams. Georgia followed with 12 players chosen. Auburn had nine and Florida eight players selected.

First team selections for Alabama football were Damien Harris, Jonah Williams and Ross Piersbacher on offense. The Tide defense had Raekwon Davis, Mack Wilson, Deionte Thompson and Anfernee Jennings. Tide players on the second and third teams were Jerry Jeudy, Matt Womack, Lester Cotton, Isaiah Buggs, Dylan Moses and Trevon Diggs.

Four SEC quarterbacks were selected due to a tie on the third-team voting. The first-team QB was Drew Lock. Jarrett Stidham was named to the second-team, Nick Fitzgerald and Jake Fromm were named to the third-team.

Alabama football fans have little reason for heartburn from the media choices. If we want to gripe, the omission of Tua Tagovailoa warrants debate. Taking nothing away from the four QB’s chosen (except that one of them is an Aubie), Tua is projected to be a Heisman candidate. Based on at least one published set of odds, he is the leading candidate.

There is no Drew Lock or Nick Fitzgerald or Jarrett Stidham on that short list. Dig deeper and you can find Heisman odds for those three SEC QB’s but they are way off the pace set by Tua.

Why the apparent discrepancy between the odds and the SEC media picks? Maybe most SEC media members ignore predictions from gambling sites. Another reason could be the pre-season picks are based on each player’s body of work in past seasons. If so, Tua might have been voted down because his sample of work was so small. Could it be that beat-writers not assigned to the Tide or the Bulldogs somehow miss the significance of Tua’s second half in the national championship game? That does not seem likely, but in case it is an issue, let’s review Tua’s performance.

The National Championship Game First Half

The Alabama Crimson Tide trailed 13-0 at halftime. The score was misleading. It could have been worse. Even with an important interception by Tony Brown, the Tide defense was not dominating, allowing the Bulldogs to convert six-of-11 third-down conversions.

The Alabama football offense was ineffective, converting only 1-of-6 third-down attempts. The Crimson Tide gained only 94 first-half yards while the Bulldogs earned 223 yards. A missed field goal and an overthrown pass to Calvin Ridley in the end zone gave no indication the second half would be different from the first.

Enter Tua

It is as easy to understate Tua’s performance as it is to overstate it. Understanding it requires proper context. Tua had never started a college game and never played when the outcome of a college game was in doubt. On the biggest possible stage for any player, much less an inexperienced freshman, he was asked to revive a dynasty under severe duress.

The first second-half drive was a three-and-out. Tua was sharp in the second drive, hitting 5-of-6 passes and a touchdown. The next drive he shocked his teammates and coaches by throwing an interception on what everyone but Tua knew was a running play. The next two possessions ended with a made field goal and a punt. At the end of the third quarter, the 13-point halftime deficit had only been cut to 10 points.

Alabama football outscored Georgia 16-3 in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Alabama Crimson Tide defense deserves an equal share of the credit for the comeback. Even so, Tua was the catalyst for the entire team. His poise, toughness and belief appeared boundless. It is not inappropriate to suggest Tua willed his team to victory.

Clearly, Tua was prepared for the national championship challenge. Credit is due the young man, his family and his coaches. If Tua’s future holds other ‘biggest stages’ how can anyone doubt he will be even more prepared to prevail. The best player in CFB in 2018? Maybe so, maybe not. Good enough to be at least a preseason All-SEC third-team selection? Absolutely!

The slow-motion replay at the end of the video below perfectly shows Tua’s patience to look off the safety before throwing to the corner.

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The Tua to Smitty connection will live forever in Crimson Tide hearts. It was Devonta’s only reception in the game.