The real rumor is that Tua Time in the SEC begins vs Clemson

Not some silly rumor started by rival fans on a message board, but word out of Tuscaloosa.

I have irritated a lot of UA fans on the Bama message boards this year declaring that Tagovailoa is better than Hurts and there is no way he will sit for 3 years to play 1 but will transfer if he doesn't get a real chance to be the starter at Alabama. Well, that real chance begins this next game.

Few coaches seeking a national title would have started a true freshman quarterback instead of a returning starter that was the SEC offensive player of the year and first team SEC quarterback, one second from winning a national title the year before. I'm not a coach, but am a firm believer that Tagovailoa is the best quarterback in the conference, in spite of the accolades and accomplishments of Jalen Hurts last year, and by the end of the year I would probably have started Tua. I do, though, think the coaches brought him along pretty well, and have planned that he would be the starting quarterback by next season, or at least would give him that real chance to be so.

The Auburn game, it seems, made that much more likely to happen. Hurts struggled again and was a factor in losing that game. To be clear, Auburn was better that game, on their own field, but Hurts wasn't good and didn't help Alabama's efforts. That it was against our instate rival, and apparently killed the goal of a national title (I guess we were wong) exacerbated the situation.

There is...rumor...of a fight in the locker room after that game, and that some players feel that Tua Tagovailoa is the better quarterback and should be playing. Though Nick Saban won't let the players run the team, he is driven to win like no other coach in the game and is smart enough to know when it's time to make a change.

Hurts will probably start, but Tagovailoa will come in relief and I am confident he will play well. The job will be his to lose going into spring practice and next season.

And that, my friends, is the real rumor. The fact for the next 2 years rival fans will not like, because it will be Tua Time in the SEC.

Thank you Auburn. Without that game, it may not have happened.