Nick Saban: Tua Tagovailoa needs to challenge himself
Tua Tagovailoa was viewed for most of last season as the premier quarterback in college football, one leading an unstoppable Alabama Crimson Tide team. The sentiment surrounding him changed somewhat after he hurt his leg in a poor performance against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and then got outclassed by Trevor Lawrence in the national championship.
Nick Saban is not satisfied with the way Bama finished the season and is challenging Tua to be better this fall. The Alabama coach shared his challenge for Tua while speaking at the SEC meetings in Destin, Florida.
Saban on QBs: “Tua has to challenge himself to get back. Being hurt was an issue at end of (last) season. He has to challenge himself to get back into great shape. He should take the perception (that) he has a lot to prove – as we all do – relative to how the season ended.”
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) May 28, 2019
Tagovailoa’s season numbers look great — 43 touchdowns and six interceptions with a 69 completion percentage and 3,966 yards — but four of the interceptions happened in two games. As great as Tagovailoa was most of the season — he was nearly flawless in most of his games — he simply did not play well enough against Georgia, Clemson, and even Mississippi State. There is plenty of room for the Heisman Trophy runner-up to improve for 2019.
