The response to some backlash on social media about Alabama coach Nick Saban shouldering blame for QB Tua Tagovailoa’s right hip injury has been strong. That includes ESPN analyst Marcus Spears, a former LSU player under Saban.

On ESPN’s “Get Up,” Spears said it was not reasonable to lay the blame with Saban for playing Tagovailoa in a lopsided game at Mississippi State.

“When’s the last time we saw somebody dislocate their hip in football,” Spears said. “Let’s contextualize this thing and not get emotional about it.”

Spears added that injuries are part of the game, and it’s so bad because Tagovailoa is a great kid and quarterback.

“There is a magnification of this injury because of who this injury happened to,” Spears said. “The bottom line is Nick Saban is not in the conversation for being the best coach to ever coach by not playing his best players.”

Spears then shared his own injury history with Saban, which was a high ankle sprain against Auburn, and he couldn’t play. So Spears believes there was due diligence done on communicating with Tagovailoa.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum added that he believes Tagovailoa’s family played a role and that he’s not so sure that Saban wanted to play the quarterback.

“He didn’t practice all week, he brought the fourth-string quarterback along, Greeny, which tells me he wasn’t playing and then something happened Saturday morning that changed everything and then unfortunately changed Tua’s career,” Finebaum said.

Here’s the entire clip: