Nick Saban spoke for his staff, the team and Alabama football fans on Monday when he said we are all hurting. We are, but it is time to move on.
Nick Saban spoke from the heart Monday during his weekly, Monday Alabama football press conference. As hard as it may be, now that Tua has had successful surgery (more on that below) it is time to remember the season is not over. The Alabama Crimson Tide will play at least three more football games this season. Crimson Tide fans can be assured Tua wants his teammates’ full attention on preparing for those games.
On Monday, Nick Saban provided the transition theme that allows us to continue caring about Tua, while also turning focus to what the Crimson Tide does best – winning football games.
Here are some of the several comments about Tua from Saban.
- “We lost a great leader and a great player on our team and we’re all hurting.”
- “I’m hurting. I called him on Saturday to cheer him up, and he cheered me up. Called him after 10 hours of film study on Sunday to cheer him up; he cheered me up.”
- “Our only concern is his health, his well-being and him making a full recovery. Our medical staff has done a phenomenal job in terms of how they handled this. This is going to be a long recovery for him, but we fully expect a full recovery.”
- (Tua) “tells me, ‘I can’t wait to get back and see the game on Saturday.”‘
The official word from the University of Alabama on Tua’s surgery is in the tweet from Cecil Hurt below,
Post surgery update on Tua Tagovailoa pic.twitter.com/m8EFUKxLID
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) November 18, 2019
Tua had surgery in Houston. The Alabama medical team decided it was best to send Tua to Houston for the surgery. Alex Byington reported one of the nation’s best hip specialists, Dr. Chip Routt performed the procedure at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Medical Center. Anticipated recovery is six to eight months.
According to Saban on Monday, moving on may not immediately include Raekwon Davis (ankle), and Henry Ruggs III (bruised ribs) who are questionable for the Western Carolina game. D. J. Dale (twisted knee) and Phidarian Mathis are other defensive players who are questionable for Saturday’s game. With so many injuries against Mississippi State, freshmen defensive linemen, Byron Young and Justin Eboigbe saw lots of action against the Bulldogs. Saban commented both played well.
The next big question for Alabama football is how well Mac Jones can perform as the Tide’s new QB starter. The game against Western Carolina should be more than a confidence booster for Mac. It will give the entire Crimson Tide offense valuable reps with Mac as the leader. While the Crimson Tide should have no trouble running on the FCS school, look for Steve Sarkisian to dial-up more of a passing offense, enhancing Mac’s timing with his receivers.
More than a few snaps must also be allocated to Taulia Tagovailoa. The younger brother needs reps and not just with the second-team.
Nick Saban’s comments on Mac expressed confidence.
"I don’t think the offense changes much at all… he’s smart. He’s improving. We have a lot of confidence in Mac… we’re not changing what we do."
It is too late in the season to build a new offense around Mac and one is not needed. Contingency plans were done by the staff long ago. To the extent the offense is tweaked, no sign of that will be seen on Saturday.
After the LSU game, Tua spoke about bringing love to the contest. Nick Saban spoke about love on Monday, making it clear he loves his players as people, not based on how good they are at football.