Tua dominates in first scrimmage

It was inevitable going into this season’s fall camp that all eyes would be on the quarterbacks. One scrimmage in, Tua Tagovailoa has, by all accounts, separated himself as the clear frontrunner . From Matt Zenitz of Al.com:

Word is that Tagovailoa threw at least three touchdowns with no interceptions while Hurts had three interceptions and didn’t account for any touchdowns.

The first Tagovailoa touchdown was more so an excellent play from sophomore wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who put a great move on one of Alabama’s defensive backs and then outran other defensive players to the end zone after catching a short pass.

Amazing what can happen when the ball is distributed to elite playmakers on time and accurately.

This is great news, as it sounds like Tua is indeed ready to deliver on the immense promise that he seemed to offer coming in. The one “knock” on the Saban era from some outsiders is that he’s never produced a legitimate first round candidate at the position, and it has to be terrifying to opponents that he may finally have one.

For Jalen, the situation is somewhat heartbreaking. The coaches are forcing him to compete in an actual passing scheme without allowing him to take off, and the results are predictable. Jalen could be a solid college QB doing what he does in a one read offense, but he’s never going to read defenses at an NFL level. If the competition continues down this path, it will be interesting to see his next step. I maintain that he would benefit from a redshirt year and position change, perhaps to safety or receiver where the Tide will have several openings before his eligibility would expire.

Some other scrimmage notes:

• Jamey Mosley separated his shoulder and will apparently miss some time, while Daniel Wright’s shoulder injury from Friday may be a season ender. Najee Harris suffered a minor lower leg injury but seems to be fine.
• Dylan Moses reportedly had a fine showing, including a diving interception of Hurts. If he and Mack Wilson stay healthy, they are going to be incredible.
• The secondary was solid despite Tua’s performance. Competition was tough all day, Tua and company just made some great plays.
• Josh Jacobs did indeed appear to be full speed.

All told, not a bad day outside of the injury to Mosley. Only three more weeks, folks.

Roll Tide.