Inside the complicated competition of Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Harms

• Tim McManus Close Tim McManus ESPN Personnel Author Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Publication’s Birds 24/7, a site he assisted create, because 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @Tim_McManus. Marcel Louis-Jacques Close Marcel Louis-Jacques ESPN Marcel Louis-Jacques signed up with ESPN in 2019 as a beat press reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The previous Carolina Panthers beat author for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018. Oct 20, 2023, 06:30 AM ET ALABAMA’S NICK SABAN huddled his personnel inside the going to coaches locker

room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium throughout halftime of the 2018 College Football Playoff championship game and dropped a loaded question in tight quarters.”What do we require to start on offense?” Quarterback Jalen Harms, the ruling SEC Offensive Player

of the Year, had actually been a force given that showing up on school, assisting the Tide to a 26-2 record and back-to-back title game looks as the starter.But Alabama had been shut out in the first half against Georgia and tracked 13-0. Waiting in the wings was freshman phenom Tua Tagovailoa, whose precision passing stirred excitement throughout the season. After conferring with his staff, Saban looked for the quarterbacks to announce his decision.”The agreement was,’Hey, let’s give the other kid a shot, ‘”stated Mike Locksley, previous Alabama offensive planner and existing head coach at Maryland.Best of NFL Country – Inside the Tua-Hurts rivalry – Hardman trade shows KC WR status – How Bengals got to be 3-3, what’s next? – How Adams will help Seattle – Why the Lions are no fluke Word that Tagovailoa would begin the 2nd half didn’t reach some of their colleagues till the offense took the field, and the switch shocked a number of the
players and coaches.The choice stimulated a domino effect that reverberated well beyond that championship game. It eventually set Tagovailoa

and Injures on divergent paths to fame, in college and the NFL. Those paths will cross for the first time Sunday night when Harms and the 5-1 Philadelphia Eagles host Tagovailoa and the 5-1 Miami Dolphins (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). “We’ll most likely see each other before the game to wish each other luck, however at the end of the day, we’re both attempting to assist our teams win,”Tagovailoa said Wednesday.” I have actually got a great deal of regard for Jalen. He’s been a fantastic competitor considering that I got to Alabama.” Tagovailoa awakened the Alabama attack when he went into the 2018 CFP title game, tossing three goals in the 26-23 return overtime win. The winning rating came on a 41-yard strike to DeVonta Smith, who is a teammate of Harms in Philadelphia. “After Tua threw the touchdown, Jalen was among the first guys to run up to him,”Smith stated.”Seeing them hug later on, then hug us, you really just see that in films, “former Alabama receiver Swade Hutchinson stated.”You saw absolutely nothing but tears of joy and joy from Jalen to Tua and the rest of us. “That was probably the best minute.

There’s nothing that will defeat that.” Jalen Injures was the very first freshman SEC Offensive Player of the Year because Herschel Walker when he guided the Tide to an ideal regular season and the SEC championship in 2016.

Clemson beat Alabama in the championship game. Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports ALABAMA HAD ACTUALLY simply finished its spring football session in 2016, and Harms had a talk with Locksley that showed an unexpected level of self-confidence for a 17-year-old freshman. Harms was acting like the starting quarterback well before that call was made, and it rubbed some other quarterbacks on the team the incorrect way, according to previous Alabama QB Josh Palet. “I can simply remember Jalen after spring ball, a private discussion we had where he basically said, ‘I’m going to make [the other quarterbacks] all transfer,’ “Locksley said. “And I’m looking at him like,’That’s a bold statement for a real freshman.'”And by the end of that 2016 season, they all did, and he was standing atop as the first freshman SEC player of the year since Herschel Walker [

in 1980]” The moving of Blake Barnett, David Cornwell and Cooper Bateman, and the graduation of Palet, created a space at the quarterback position. And it resulted in a pair of newbies joining the Tide– Tagovailoa and Mac Jones.Tagovailoa showed up in 2017 as the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country and part of the nation’s No. 1 draft class, and while Hurts was the undoubted starter, Tagovailoa saw lots of action. He finished with 636 passing lawns and 11 goals in

8 looks.” When I arrived, it was like,’OK, I do not wish to screw up what we have here, so I’m going to try to find where I fit,’ “Tagovailoa said. “However then it’s also among those things where if you aren’t strong mentally, you either

needed to be … or figure it out. Or you would not have actually made it there.”Injures led an offense that set up 37.1 points per game, the 15th-most in the country, however it was mainly on the strength of a run game that featured future NFL backs Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough, Najee Harris, Josh Jacobs and Brian Robinson Jr.Tagovailoa, meanwhile, gave the Crimson Tide visions of the future.Editor’s Picks 2 Related”Guys acknowledged [Hurts is] a player and a terrific quarterback, but I think guys had a feeling that Tua could throw the ball much better, “previous walk-on pass receiver Mac Hereford said.” They wanted the guy who was going to toss more.”Jalen tended when the pocket broke, the majority of the time, to opt for a run, whereas the concept was most of the time when the pocket broke for Tua, he was going to attempt and extend a play and make a play happen.”Injures and Tagovailoa split first-team practice representatives throughout the season, with Hurts taking roughly 80%,

Hutchinson said

. But Harms came down with the flu in the days leading up to the Sugar Bowl versus Clemson, and Tagovailoa took the starter’s reps.”Any person that keeps in mind those 2 or 3 practices, male, we looked like a various team,” Locksley said.”I could simply keep in mind the 2

or three days of practices where the ball didn’t ever touch the ground.” Tagovailoa’s performance was strong enough to necessitate playing time versus Clemson– or so he thought.Hurts played every snap of a difficult 24-6 win, throughout which

Alabama assembled 261 backyards of offense and 120 passing backyards. “Tua was so mad after that game, there was an opportunity that he was literally going to transfer,”Locksley stated,”since he anticipated to play in that game.”And at the end of it, he was not pleased that

he didn’t play, but he clearly remained on, and thank goodness he did.” Tua Tagovailoa celebrated winning the

championship game on January 8, 2018, which would be the last game in which he came off the bench. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images WHEN ALABAMA FACED Georgia in the College Football Playoff national championship the following week, Harms ended up the half with 21 passing lawns and the Tide routed 13-0.”That’s when Coach asked the question,” Locksley stated. “And the discussion was, ‘Hey, offer Tua a shot. If

he does not spark us, we constantly have the capability to return to Jalen.'”This gives Jalen an opportunity to kind of calm down.

Perhaps it gives him a various sort of perspective seeing it from the sideline. “Considering the situations, there wasn’t much time to process the decision.”People believed there was a potential that Tua would enter location for Jalen Injures throughout the season, “Hereford said. “But when you get to the point where it’s the national championship game, I don’t think any person actually believed Coach Saban would 100 percent do it. “Saban informed the 2 quarterbacks, however there was no teamwide announcement. “It was just odd to see,”Hutchinson stated.”Nobody knew he was going in at the time on my side of the locker room, so when we appeared in the game it was just, ‘Wait a minute. What is going on?’ “Hereford added:”It was extremely quick. You could not even really soak it

in. The call was made, Tua comes out and it’s much like, ‘Well, that’s how we’re going to play it. ‘”Tagovailoa displayed the off-script playmaking ability his teammates had actually seen in practice all season, and he tossed a touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs III on Alabama’s 2nd drive of the 3rd quarter.Facing a one-score deficit on fourth-and-4 late in the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa found Calvin Ridley for a 7-yard touchdown pass to connect the game.In overtime, Tagovailoa took a sack on Alabama’s first play, then delivered one of the most iconic passes in college football history to

win the nationwide championship.Tagovailoa finished with 166 passing lawns, 3 touchdowns and an interception in what ended up being his final game as a backup.”Tua gets placed, and the rest is history,”

Locksley said. Tagovailoa, right, and Hurts celebrated during the championship parade in 2018. Harms would support Tagovailoa the next season before moving to Oklahoma. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson HARMS HAS ACTUALLY stated he carries his scars with him anywhere he goes, and there was a large one left when he was

benched because title game. “We spoke about it extremely quickly. … [He] revealed his disappointment in himself and was deeply hurt,” Byron Henderson, Injures’former coach at

Texas’Channelview High School, stated in a January interview.” But he right away gathered himself and went back to work.

… He blamed nobody for the way things addressed Alabama but himself

; for that reason, he understood that the only one to repair it or make it better was himself. “Harms was dealt another blow when Tagovailoa won the beginning task in 2018. “That was the very first time I ever saw any [vulnerability] from the perspective of he was lost,”Locksley said.”I could simply remember him asking,’What do I do now

?'” For the time being, the answer was to stick at Alabama, earn his degree in public relations and details sciences, and play the supporting role. “Jalen’s a terrific individual, [and] Tua may be one of the nicest people you will ever fulfill, “Ridley stated.”Any weird things going around with them, you would never have that. … They only would work to assist each other prosper, since they’re simply 2 great people and they know their capability, and they know what Alabama’s about and what we were attempting to do in that moment.”There was a turnaround of fortune, for one night, on Dec. 1, 2018, when Tagovailoa left the SEC championship in the 4th quarter with an ankle injury versus Georgia. It was Injures’ turn to attempt a come-from-behind win versus the Bulldogs. He connected the game with a touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy and then scored the consent TD on a 15-yard go to raise Alabama to a 35-28 triumph.”A lot of us, after the thrill of the win, as we started to come down, we started almost laughing to ourselves going,’Are we involved in some kind of Disney film we’re uninformed of?’It was too strange,”stated Alex Mortensen, previous Alabama analyst. “However it was awesome.”A lot of people were thrilled for him due to the fact that of the way he performed himself. You actually desired him to have personal success.”The following year, Injures moved on to Oklahoma, where he ended up second to Joe Burrow in the

Heisman Prize voting after tossing 32 touchdown passes and hurrying for 20 more.”He was a special player throughout his entire college career,”Tagovailoa said.Hurts has actually brought that momentum to the NFL. The 2020 second-round choice is 19-2 as a starter over the last 2 routine seasons. He played perhaps the very best game of his profession in a 38-35 Super Bowl LVII beat to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Hurts was rewarded with the richest contract in NFL history at the time, inking a five-year,$255 million extension in March. “It’s a compound result of not just those times at Alabama, but my entire profession thus far of a number of various experiences,”Hurts said, when asked how his Alabama experience shaped his mental makeup. “There’s constantly an opportunity to learn from that, and I

think I’ve just grown in knowledge and grown as an individual throughout my whole entire career.”

Harms connected a Super Bowl record with 3 rushing goals and set a record with 70 rushing backyards in Super Bowl LVII. He likewise tossed for 304 yards and one TD. Cooper Neill/Getty Images) A monster payday for Tagovailoa, who was selected No. 5 in the 2020 draft, looks to be ideal around the corner. He is the MVP favorite at Caesars Sportsbook and is off to a blistering start after an injury-filled 2022 season. The Dolphins offense leads the league in total yards(498.7), passing backyards (316.8)and points per

game( 37.2)through 6 weeks.”When two guys are contending, they’re making each other much better, making the team better,” said Eagles backup QB Marcus Mariota, who is a mentor of Tagovailoa and fellow alum of the same high school in Hawaii.”I thought Tua and Jalen welcomed that. I believed they both made each other better, and I think that’s why they’re both having success at this level.”Hurts and Tagovailoa haven’t stayed in contact much considering that their Alabama days. There’s more of a mutual adoration than a close relationship. “It’s been excellent to see the important things he’s been able to do over his career, “Injures said. “I’m wishing for continued success. “Hereford remembered a scene from the champion parade just days after the win over Georgia, when the QBs walked the path side-by-side.”There’s a photo of them together with their arms around each other: It was Mac Jones, Tua and Jalen. They weren’t acting, “Hereford said.” They were around each other and they mored than happy.

It didn’t matter who did this or who did that. You got that ambiance that they were kids, and not just football teammates.” Now they’re foes– no longer completing for the very same position, just for the very same objective.”I’ve got a lot of respect for him, for who he is as a person, who he is as a player, “Tagovailoa stated,”and I wish him the very best of luck as we play him.” Extra reporting by Michael DiRocco, Paul Gutierrez, Ben Baby, Brooke Pryor, David Newton, Alaina Getzenberg, John Keim