Mike Locksley hilariously declares best quarterback from Alabama's 2018 team

Before he became the head coach at Maryland, Mike Locksley spent three years at Alabama, working his way up from offensive analyst in 2016 to offensive coordinator in 2018. He had plenty of talent in his quarterback room during that 2018 season, too.

The Crimson Tide’s quarterback room consisted of Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones. Not bad, right? All three ended up becoming NFL starting quarterbacks, which speaks to the amount of talent in that room during that 2018 season.

Well, during an appearance on ESPN’s Always College Football podcast, host Greg McElroy asked Locksley who he thinks the best quarterback was of that group — Tagovailoa, Hurts or Jones. The 2018 Broyles Award winner found a way to get around the question and give a humorous answer in the process.

“I tell you what, I really like ‘Tua J. Mac,'” Locksley said. “‘Tua J. Mac,’ I thought he was the best of all of those three guys. You didn’t mention his name, but he was sitting in that room. ‘Tua J. Mac.'”

Tagovailoa started for that team, which fell to Clemson in the national championship, and ended up becoming the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Hurts transferred to Oklahoma after that season and was selected with the No. 39 pick in the second round of that draft. Two years after that 2018 campaign, Jones — after helping the Crimson Tide to a national title — headed to the New England Patriots as the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

As for Locksley, he’s getting ready for his fourth season at Maryland and his third with Tagovailoa’s brother, Taulia Tagovailoa, under center after he transferred from Alabama. The Terrapins went 7-6 last year to earn a spot int he Pinstripe Bowl, where they defeated Virginia Tech 54-10.