Saban tells ESPN that both QBs will play vs. Louisville

According to ESPN.com , Nick Saban has announced that both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts will see the field in the opener.

“I think we have two guys that are weapons, and they’ve both played well, so the plan is to play both guys in the game,” Saban told ESPN’s Chris Fowler in an interview that will air on College Gameday on Saturday. “So the only issue is who plays first, and we’ll decide that when the time comes.”

This could be construed in several ways, as both guys would play should the Tide dominate as expected. This next quote sounds more like a pre-determined rotation, though.

“I really don’t want either one of the guys to go out there and play and look over their shoulder and worry about the next guy,” Saban said. “So it’ll be, really, just ... you’re gonna play this much and then the next guy’s gonna play and we’ll kinda go from there.”

When it comes to the QBs, anything Saban says should probably be taken with a grain of salt after he admittedly misled everyone before the USC game in 2016. Still, those who were hoping to see Tua handed the reins from the first snap of the season should probably prepare to see the competition continue.