Alabama Football: Talking top 2020 quarterbacks and who has one

Alabama football will enter the 2020 season without a predicted, top quarterback.

The post-Tua era of Alabama football means going into the 2020 season without a predicted, Top 10 quarterback. Those pre-season predictions may give way to different results. Mac Jones’ teammates and the Crimson Tide coaching staff appear to have full confidence in the redshirt junior. His 2019 game stats warrant confidence.

Against Arkansas, Auburn and Michigan, Mac was 60-for-86 for 797 yards, with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. His quarterback rating in those three games was 216.5, 162.4 and 213.5. One of his interceptions in the Auburn game resulted from a grievous mental error. The other was a bizarre fluke.

Mac may get pushed a bit by Bryce Young during fall camp. There is not much chance Bryce will win out for the season-opener. If he can beat out the more experienced Jones, it will signal a bright future for Bryce. Following Nick Saban’s inclinations, Mack Jones probably needs to be QB1. As long as Mac does not try to be Tua and is content to just be Mac Jones, he should do well. An argument can be made the Crimson Tide has one of the top five, best quarterback pairs for 2020.

What others have to say about 2020 QBs

Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are on every list at No. 1 or No. 2. Not close but coming in at No. 3 is Texas Longhorn, Sam Ehlinger. Opinions of other 2020 quarterbacks vary considerably.

The Big Noon Kickoff Crew on Fox named their top five QBs for the season. The panel was Urban Meyer, Rob Stone, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn. Perhaps two former USC players and one from Notre Dame had some tunnel-vision. How the group voted can be seen in the tweet below.

A compiled ranking from Fox crew, giving the No. 1 selections, five points, working down to one point for a No. 5 selection, ranks a Top 10. No. 1 with 29 points is Lawrence, followed by Fields at 25 points. Ehlinger is No. 3 with 14 points; Florida Gator, Kyle Trask with nine points is No. 4, followed by Kedon Slovis at No. 5, with six points. Next are Sam Howell (5 points) and Bo Nix (four points). Spencer Rattler and Ian Book tied (three points) for No. 8. At No. 10 is Tanner Morgan with one point.

In mid-May, Sporting News ranked a Top 25 quarterback list. The results are similar at the top, with Lawrence and Fields, again No. 1 and No. 2.  On the longer list, Mac Jones is No. 18 and Bryce Young is No. 25. SEC quarterbacks ranked above Mac Jones are Jamie Newman at No. 10, Kellen Mond at No. 12 and Kyle Trask at No. 14.

The SEC quarterbacks ranked between Mac Jones and Bryce Young are No. 20, K.J. Costello, No. 22, Box Nix and No. 24, Myles Brennan. Seven SEC schools have a total of eight QBs ranked. The Alabama Crimson Tide are the only team with two on the list.

For Alabama football fans, making an expectation adjustment from Tua to Mac might be hard. It will be much easier for the Tide staff and players. In the era when college careers are often three seasons, change occurs rapidly.