Alabama has quite an interesting quarterback situation going on as spring camp approaches. Jalen Hurts is the incumbent starter, but Tua Tagovailoa has certainly made his case considering he saved the team in the second half of the National Championship Game.
Hurts has not come along as quickly as Nick Saban would have hoped and while he's a solid quarterback, he took a step back in 2017 and that could leave the door open for Tagovailoa to become the starter. However, ESPN's Paul Finebaum doesn't believe that Saban will name an outright starter heading into spring because he hopes to keep Hurts around rather than put him in an obvious transfer situation.
"Nick Saban has been through this before, buy not quite like this," Finebaum said, per 247Sports. "What will he do? Will he name a starter after spring? I don't think he will if it's close. And I might be in the minority here, but I think it will be close. Jalen Hurts is a phenomenal quarterback. We all know his statistics and what he's done. He had a bad national championship game, but he's still one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC.
"If Saban is smart, and he is brilliant almost Einstein-like, I think he'll drag this one as long as possible. He doesn't want to lose Jalen Hurts before the season begins."
Regardless of when Hurts might transfer —- if he decides to go that route —- he would have to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules. It would also leave Alabama with some serious depth issues at possibly the most important position on the field for them. They do have Mac Jones in the wings as well as a couple other guys who probably will never see the field.
With Saban not being able to land a quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class, keeping Hurts around for another year will be huge and should be a priority. There's also the chance of implementing a two-quarterback system to keep both guys happy as well since the Crimson Tide has yet another offensive coordinator this year.
[h/t The Spun]
