Inclement weather forced Alabama football indoors for its final scrimmage before A-Day, however, sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not present during viewing period.
Since injuring his index finger on his left hand in week one of spring practice, the Hawaiian native has been limited while Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones took all reps.
Despite getting 15-20 snaps in last week’s scrimmage, the five-star did not participate on Saturday — which has led to frustration from Crimson Tide fans.
According to Nick Saban, the popular selection for starting quarterback in the coming fall reaggravated his injury and the team is being careful with him.
“Tua had a little setback with his hand, so doctors are trying to evaluate the best course of action and what we do with him for the remainder of spring,” Saban said. “With that said, I can’t really tell you anymore. We are going to protect him and make sure this thing isn’t an issue in the fall.”
He carried a strong touchdown to interception ratio – 40 to 10 – in the last two years, and Hurts has shown signs all spring of trusting himself as a passer via Saban. Having the continuation of displaying the confidence is the primary thing for the junior to master upon entering fall camp.
“He has done a really good job and I think sometimes you can’t just think about making plays, you have to make plays based on how they are designed,” Saban said.
“You have to have some trust and confidence in the people playing with you, that if you go through progressions that gives us the best chance to make explosive plays in the passing game. And when it breaks down, then use your athletic ability to try and make up for it. He’s been much better at that this spring.”
When it comes to Mac Jones, Saban loves his competitive fire but wants him to channel it in positive ways in terms of situational football. He is not mentioned a lot in the quarterback race, nonetheless, his improvement overall has been noticed from the coaching staff and players.
“When you are a quarterback, how is what I’m doing affect my unit?” Saban said of Jones, in wanting to see him improve his leadership.
“When things don’t go well, you can’t always show your disappointment or emotions. You have to be positive. That part of his leadership we’re continuing to work on, but he’s made more good plays and we feel good about his development.”
With offensive coordinator Michael Locksley and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos bouncing ideas off each other, whomever is throwing the ball for Alabama will be prepared. He may miss the spring game on next week, but Tide fans can only hope that is the end of injury news for Tagovailoa.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
