Nick Saban relishes Alabama football memories coaching Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa ahead of a blockbuster matchup in NFL arena
Two of the best quarterbacks Nick Saban has given to the football world, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, will face each other in the NFL arena this week. Both were teammates with the Alabama Crimson Tide, and now they are foes on the field. But Saban has fond memories of them.
Coaching two future NFL MVP candidates on a single college team together isn't something anyone can boast of. But Saban isn't just anyone. He's a college football coaching icon.
Ahead of the much-awaited matchup, the Alabama coach opened up about those memories. And what he said is a lesson of team spirit for every upcoming athlete who is going into team sports.
"I never had two players that were really, really good players at the same position who actually supported each other the way those two guys supported each other when they were here," Saban said via Charlie Potter.
Tagovailoa's Miami Dolphins will take on Hurts' Philadelphia Eagles in NFL week 7 on Sunday. Both teams have identical 5-1 records and are top contenders in their conferences.
Both played for the Tide between 2016 and 2018. While Tagovailoa replaced Hurts in the 2017 College Football Playoff championship game at halftime, Hurts returned the favor the following year in the SEC championship game due to an injury to Tagovailoa. And both are a lesson that Jalen Milroe and Alabama need for the Week 8 clash with archrival Tennessee.
Alabama gets ready for Tennessee rivalry
With Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts facing each other in the NFL, the responsibility of carrying No. 11 Alabama (6-1, 4-0 SEC) through in the rivalry matchup against the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday falls on Jalen Milroe.
The Tide offense hasn't really rolled this season despite having just one defeat. But the Volunteers won't give Alabama a chance like others have done.
Tennessee won the matchup 52-49 last season, so the pressure to win is more on Nick Saban's side this time. And the fans have made it clear that they won't accept anything less than a win.
So, who will come out on top when the Saturday matchup rolls around?