Nick Saban sounds off on his two former quarterbacks facing off in NFL

Alabama head coach Nick Saban offered his thoughts on his two former quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones facing off in Week One of the NFL season.

“Both guys are great guys, both guys did a great job for us here, we’re rooting for both guys,” Saban said. “I hope both guys play extremely well. They are very capable. Tua had his year last year to play and develop and learn and grow and Mac is in that situation now. I wish them both very well, I hope they both do extremely well both in this game and in their careers.”

Saban continued.

“Somebody’s going to win and somebody’s going to have to lose,” he said. “I think the quarterback probably gets too much credit when you win and they also get too much criticism when you lose. It will certainly be a team effort for both teams in terms of who has the most success in the game.”

Jones and Tagovailoa finished their Alabama careers as two of the best quarterbacks to suit up in Tuscaloosa.

Tua Tagovailoa’s legendary career began when he subbed in for starter Jalen Hurts in the second half of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship. Tagovailoa helped the Tide rally from a 13-0 halftime deficit, finishing 14-of-24 for 166 yards with three touchdowns and one interception to go with his 27 yards rushing on 12 attempts, winning Offensive MVP honors for his efforts.

Over the next two seasons, Tagovailoa threw for 6,806 yards and 76 touchdowns. In 2018, Tagovailoa lead Alabama to the College Football Playoff, earned the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a consensus All-American selection. In 2019, Tagovailoa earned second-team All-SEC honors. He went on to be drafted by the Dolphins with the fifth-overall pick in the 2020 Draft.

Mac Jones sat behind Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts for three seasons, before earning his chance to start a full season in 2020. In his only year as the starter, Jones led a record-breaking Alabama offense. In 13 games, Jones three for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. He earned consensus All-American honors for his efforts. Earned the Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award and finished runner up for the Heisman Trophy behind his teammate DeVonta Smith.

Now, after three years of sharing a quarterback room, Jones and Tagovailoa will face off for the first time as Tagovailoa’s Dolphins head to New England on Sunday to take on Jones and the Patriots.

Mac Jones was named the starter for New England last week, after beating out incumbent starter Cam Newton for the starting job. Jones will look to help the Patriots rebound from a 7-9 season in 2020 that saw the Patriots miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Tua Tagovailoa enters his second season in the league after starting nine games for the Dolphins in 2020. As a rookie, Tagovailoa threw for 1,814 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Alabama product will look to build off his rookie year and silence the noise around him heading into his sophomore campaign.