Who earns the job at Quarterback No. 2 will be on the minds of Alabama football fans all the way through spring and fall camps.
For the first time in what feels like forever, Alabama football does not have a debate over who will be the No. 1 quarterback. Only injury could keep Tua Tagovailoa from taking the first snap against Duke next fall.
The Alabama football fanbase is never content without roster decisions to stew over. There will be plenty of new starting assignments decided over the next several months. The one, non-starting role that will garner equal attention will be who backs up Tua. Mac Jones is the heir apparent No. 2, but he will have to prove he can handle the pressure of literally being one play away from being the Alabama football starter.
Some younger guys will battle Mac. Don’t bother to ask if Layne Hatcher, Taulia Tagovailoa and Paul Tyson will cede the number two role to Mac. They will not. Taulia is brash enough to have already stated he is in Tuscaloosa to challenge his older brother for the starting job.
One thing is guaranteed. Alabama football fans will be disappointed when the A-Day game does not reveal a clear number two. The backups will see plenty of action in the spring game. After all, Tua needs little polishing and the spring game format is not quarterback friendly.
Alabama football fans will look for several spring clues. Do the backups have poise in the pocket, can they see the field well enough to quickly read second or third options? Can they grasp the defensive clues to whatever RPO sets are retained? Basically, do they make the sound decisions needed to guard them against beating their own team by mistakes?
Spring practice will be a transition to a new OC, with new schemes and new plays. It will not be a complete overhaul. It will remain within the parameters defined by Nick Saban. But it will be a learning process. Inexperienced players, particularly quarterbacks do not do well when they have to think too much in game action. It will be hard for any of them, including Mac to get a ‘feel’ for the new offense in spring alone. To a small degree, perhaps Taulia and Paul have a small advantage. It is all new to them.
What we Alabama football fans want to learn is which backup can run the same package as Tua. To an extent, physical attributes might become a factor. Taulia probably has the edge in making plays with his feet.
We should reconcile ourselves to the fact none of the backups will come close to Tua’s skills in 2019. There will be growing pains with the next number two and number three will also need game action. The September schedule is favorable for quarterback development. But there is a pesky trip to Columbia, SC in week three.
By Oct. 12 in College Station, Alabama football fans want to be secure, whoever is “one play away” can handle the job. And we want some solid clues before October.