Jumbo Package: Gump Day!

Cole Cubelic would take Tua Tagovailoa for single game but Joe Burrow for season right now

“Tua is the standard right now when we’re talking quarterbacks in college football right now,” he said. “He’s done it longer. He’s done more of it. He has been dominant for a longer period of time.”

Still, when it comes to comparing quarterbacks. This is the SEC. There has to be a clear-cut leader at the position, right?

”If you’re talking about who has been better I think probably Joe’s been better because he’s done it against better opponents. That’s the only direction I would go. They both shredded an SEC opponent on the road, but Joe Burrow got a top-10 Texas team on the road he was able to shred.

“‘If you’re talking this season, I’d lean Joe Burrow’s season a little bit more. Still not sure if I’d take him over Tua if we were talking about who’d I want quarterbacking my team. If it’s an individual game, it’s probably Tua. If it’s a season, it’s probably Joe Burrow because I’m not worried about the durability, and I know I get the toughness.”

This is a bit of a misleading headline from Aye-Ell, as Cubelic was making the point that Tua Tagovailoa’s injury history is a bit more extensive than that of Joe Burrow. But hey, everyone’s gotta aim for getting those #clicks somehow, and this is a good one to stir up some gumps.

Regardless, I’m happy to let them keep pumping sunshine into Burrow and the LSU offense. The less Alabama has to deal with “overlooked and angry underdogs,” the better.

What Tua Tagovailoa said Tuesday about receivers switching routes, Fortnite

On his communication with receivers about first quarter scripted plays: “It depends on what I feel our shot plays would be. I ask the guys, ‘Who is going to be in on this play?’ Jerry would be in. I would tell Jerry, ‘expect it to come flatter,’ or ‘expect it to come higher because this is how we’ve seen them play.’ So it really depends on what the play is and what we’re going to run that makes me kind of sit down and talk to whoever. There could be about four shot plays and I would ask who’s running it. Sometimes three of the shot plays could be to the same guy.”

On when he receives the first quarter script: “I get the script on Friday. I go over it. I mark down plays that I like. I have the opportunity Friday nights, usually, to sit down with Coach Sark, as a quarterback group, and tell them what I like on third down, 2 to 4 [yards]; third, 7 to 10; play action shots that I like; normal drop back plays that I like. It’s a good opportunity for me to communicate things that I like, things that I don’t like, so come time in the game we’re not running something I feel uncomfortable with.”

On how often he assigns scripted plays to certain receivers: “I don’t really think of personnel too much unless in practice that’s the only person we’ve ran it with. It just really depends on how we’ve been practicing and how it’s been looking against zone defense, man defense. Usually third down plays are the biggest plays for us that I like to pick because you want to get a first down and you want to feel comfortable with the play. So it doesn’t matter as much with the personnel as it does seeing the play progress throughout practices.”

This is a really cool interview with Tua. There’s more than what I quoted here, but these were my favorite answers he gave. It’s encouraging to know how much he and Sarkisian are working together to come up with plays that they’re comfortable with executing, and his little note about how he plans to adjust his throws based on opponent tendencies is some elite-level preparation.

Alabama practice report: Terrell Lewis update

-- Outside linebacker Terrell Lewis was dressed and leading the positional drills after missing last week’s game against Southern Miss. He hyperextended his knee a week before that at South Carolina and he was letting it heal after a medical procedure, Nick Saban said. Lewis was at practice Monday but wasn’t spotted participating in drills.

-- Defensive lineman D.J. Dale was dressed out for a second straight day but didn’t appear to be doing any of the drills again. He injured his patellar tendon against Southern Miss. Saban said he hoped both he and Lewis would be good to go for the 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday visit from Ole Miss.

-- Watching the offensive line drills, they weren’t going five across to see the full alignment. It did, however, look like Deonte Brown was running with the second group at right guard. Saban on Monday said the starter from last year would have to beat someone for the job if he wanted it back after a six-game NCAA suspension.

And here’s the daily practice “report” from yesterday. Nothing new to note, but it is nice to see Terrell Lewis back to going through drills.

Tide in the NFL: Tracking Alabama players in Week 3 action

Five former Alabama players scored touchdowns in Week 3 in Chicago Bears safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper (twice), Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens running back Mark Ingram (three times) and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones. Ingram (135) and Jones (128) each topped 100 yards of offense.

Odd, but I could have sworn that all Alabama players were busts in the pros. At least that’s what I’ve been told.

Give the article a click if you want a list of what every single player did last week, but suffice it to say that 52 different Alabama players saw snaps in the NFL last weekend. That’s basically an entire NFL team. The only thing missing is a QB, and the Alabama alumni could actually field a competitive (perhaps more than competitive) NFL squad.... Looking at you, Tua.

That’s it for today. We have some more #content, in the form of a freshman tracker and some opponent previews, coming up later this morning.

Roll Tide!