When college quarterbacks get compared to Drew Brees, it’s usually because they’re relatively short for the position.

While Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa is listed just an inch taller than Brees at 6-foot-1, Gary Danielson thinks the two signal-callers are alike for much better reasons.

The SEC on CBS analyst likened Tagovailoa to the future Hall of Famer for their attributes in the pocket and qualities as a person. Below are Danielson’s thoughts on the subject, which he discussed during a conference call this week.

“Tua’s a very unique player. The only player in my career doing this that throws the ball the way he does – there are some people that just have a feel for the game – the only one that I compare him to is Drew Brees. They have a special feel for seeing and creating and anticipating and accuracy and also being a good person at the same time. His teammates seem to gravitate to his personality. He’s even softened up the old ball coach [Nick Saban] a little bit on the sideline it seems to me. And that’s not easy to do. I think the fact that he was so good that he put an SEC Offensive Player of the Year on the bench, and in all fairness to everybody at Alabama, Jalen [Hurts] is a great player, but Alabama had no choice. He [Tagovailoa] was so good that they had to play him.”

Danielson might be on to something, especially considering both players’ stats this season.

Tagovailoa leads the nation in passer rating and has an outstanding touchdown-to-interception ration (36-to-2) for the No. 1 Crimson Tide, which is the favorite to win this year’s national championship. He’s also the frontunner for the Heisman Trophy.

Brees, meanwhile, leads the NFL in passer rating and has thrown 29 touchdowns to just two interceptions for the New Orleans Saints, who at 10-1 are among the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season. Coincidentally, Brees appears to have a leg up in the MVP race at the moment.

Tagovailoa is only a sophomore in college and has a ways to go before being mentioned in the same breath as Brees, who has set the all-time completions and passing yardage records this season and is on pace to shatter the completion percentage and efficiency high marks. But it’s clear Danielson thinks the Alabama star is cut from the same cloth as Brees, and for more than just football reasons.