The status of Tua Tagovailoa for the upcoming Orange Bowl against Oklahoma looms larger than any subject for the Crimson Tide.

Without the Heisman Trophy runner-up, Alabama’s offense is poised to look drastically different than if the native Hawaiian is back there slinging the football around for Nick Saban’s team. That’s not to say the Crimson Tide wouldn’t still be the favorite or could not win the game with Jalen Hurts leading the team, it’s just not the ideal scenario, based on what Tua has proven he can do when healthy.

If you missed it, Dan Patrick caused quite the stir on Thursday when he shared that he was hearing that Tua was “iffy” for the Orange Bowl. If you missed it, here’s what Patrick had to say regarding what his source is telling him about Tua.

“Even he said it’s tough to get information out of the Kremlin, but he thinks Tua is iffy for the game against Oklahoma,” Patrick said on his national radio show. “That’s the word inside Alabama, that with that ankle injury, he’s iffy to play in the semifinal game.”

As you would expect, it didn’t take word long for Patrick’s comments to reach Alabama. The following day, on Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 FM radio show “Three Man Front,” show co-host Cole Cubelic offered up these comments to his fellow co-host, Landrum Roberts, in response to Patrick.

“My response to this would be, and you and I have both put feelers out to the people we feel have good information on this situation, obviously Aaron (Suttles) not here today, he would have better information than any of us, but I have spoken to a few people, you have spoken to a few people,” Cubelic said on the air. “My information says there’s no information to believe this and I think the main reason our side of it would be true is that they haven’t even practiced yet.”

“How would you know?”

Cubelic later followed up his original thought by suggesting that it’s simply impossible to accurately gauge Tua’s health at this time.

“I think it’s very difficult to even speculate on what percentage health he will be, if he’ll be available, how he’ll play because we haven’t even seen him out at practice yet,” Cubelic offered up.

Once, more, before moving on to another topic, here’s what the show host had to say in closing regarding Patrick’s report on Tua.

“We have no information that leads us to believe that’s accurate — none,” Cubelic said.

For what it’s worth, following this show, Tua was back at practice for Alabama on Friday. Video of that practice can be viewed here.