re: So this Tua kid...

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FWIW, CrimsonBoz insider info is always top notch and spot on

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Braxton Miller to Bama. Done deal

If Hurts stays four years Tua IMO will take the job from him and Hurts will be the backup. I like Hurts but I do not see him holding off Tua for 3 years.

If he thinks he can make a roster, and never said 1st round, I think he goes after his junior year. He would be foolish not to because as I said earlier I have not sure how high his ceiling is and doubt a 4th year would help him.

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Will there be a QB battle for the starting job after this year?

If Saban doesn't allow that to happen and just says Hurts is the starter, why would Tua stay if he won't have a chance to challenge for the starting job.

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Why do we have to go through this every year?

If there's any single thing Saban's shown during his time at Alabama, it is that nobody is simply awarded a position. He plays the people he thinks will give Alabama the best chance to win regardless of stars or class status. All you've got to do is rewind to last season when some 18 year old true freshman got handed the keys to the offense or look at the defense and see Levi Wallace playing ahead of half a dozen 4 and 5* recruits.

If at any point (be it this fall, next spring, or whenever) Nick Saban thinks Tua gives Alabama the best shot at winning, it is a 100% certainty that Tua will be in the game.

So yes, there will be a QB battle next year just like there is at every position every season.

Saban was pretty adamant that there was no QB battle this year.

Just curious if Saban will say the same thing next year.

I think it's pretty obivious way a freshman took the starting job last year, the other QB were terrible. Had Coker been back last year, he would have been the starter.

How many times under Saban has a two year starter been pass up by a younger player.

Out of all the QB Saban has had, none of them has looked as good passing the ball as Tua has in three games.

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could definitely see Hurts transitioning into another role on the offense in future seasons like a hybrid rb position, plus backup / situational qb, if that is what he projects at in the NFL and Tua is legit.

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Wildcat quarterback or Tebow package. Tua allows you to utilize "all" of our play makers. Some of you guys probably understand how talented we are at WR. A quarterback that is elite passing the ball plus our backfield equals a truly unstoppable offense. It would literally be like a video game offense. Maybe Hurts can fend him off...

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Saban was pretty adamant that there was no QB battle this year.

Just curious if Saban will say the same thing next year.

I think it's pretty obivious way a freshman took the starting job last year, the other QB were terrible. Had Coker been back last year, he would have been the starter.

How many times under Saban has a two year starter been pass up by a younger player.

Out of all the QB Saban has had, none of them has looked as good passing the ball as Tua has in three games

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He was adamant because there wasn't one. With one possible exception, even the most fervent Tua fans here say he isn't ready to start.

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ow many times under Saban has a two year starter been pass up by a younger player.

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I guess I should just link all the posts last year where people were pissing and moaning about how Saban would never start a true freshman - and then he did.

Once again, you are just tossing aside what should be undeniable by now - and that is that Saban doesn't care about any of the things normal fans and maybe even some coaches consider. The best guy gets the job.

Might have the next Drew Brees as the backup QB. Only time will tell.

Listen, I love Jalen and I don't foresee him losing the job this year. That being said, he won't have it next year.

You're absolutely kidding yourself if you haven't noticed the trend in the offense this year when Tua comes in. The Vanderbilt play calling was night and day in terms of what we allowed Tua to throw compared to Jalen. Tua came off the bench and immediately was throwing to the middle of the field and sideline over 10-15 yards each time. He's young and inexperienced in terms of decision making, especially scampering around in the pocket on that touchdown play with the ball ripe for an easy fumble. However Jalen is not trusted to make those throws, he hasn't been for a long time and it's an issue. At some point you have to sit there and wonder why we won't let Jalen throw it 30-40 times against a cupcake or when we're up 45-0 over Vanderbilt. We're not developing his passing issue, we're hiding it. Of his past seven games, it's been an issue with him not throwing for more than 150 yards routinely. That's not an issue you see at any other top 10 school. Before someone responds "we don't need to when we can run the ball". Well what happens when we can't? What happens when we're in an LSU 2014 situation or Ohio State in the playoffs? When we have to drive and throw it more than 10 yards a play and not short sideline scampers? The defense bailed us out a ton last year, but it isn't the same defense this year.

I fully believe Jalen keeps the job all year. However he's guaranteed to lose it next year unless something changes. He doesn't have the quick release of Tua nor the velocity, and Tua seems too lead on accuracy as well. He has the mental game, but if Tua comes even close to Jalen in that facet, which he should with another year under his belt, then his starting career is over here.

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It's kind of insane how little love Hurts gets on this board. You would think that we had Drew Brees as our backup, after performing well in one half against an arse-whooped Vandy team. The topic has been beaten to death, but Hurts has our offense clicking on all cylinders, and at least half the fanbase wants the guy benched for a true freshman that hasn't done anything outside of garbage time. It's the typical "the grass is always greener" mentality of our fanbase.

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I think it's more to it than that.

To a point, I get where they're coming from. We've never had a dual threat QB and we've spent Saban's entire tenure trashing teams that use them.

Now we've got one, so our fans don't quite know how to adjust. They just look at a box score and equate what it says to QB effectiveness - and that's where they lose me.

Tua may well have a much higher ceiling as a pure pocket passer but when comparing you've got to evaluate the entire packages. Tua may develop to the point that his passing ability surpasses the other attributes that Hurts brings to the table and if that happens, I've got no doubt that Saban wouldn't hesitate to make a change, but he isn't there yet and I don't think he's really very close.