Tua Tagovailoa had an impressive first season as Alabama’s starting quarterback. He passed for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns, led the Crimson Tide to the national championship game and was one of the best players in the country, being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
So, it’s no surprise that when FOX college football analyst Joel Klatt named his top five SEC players entering the 2019 season on Friday that Tagovailoa was atop the list.
Tagovailoa and teammate Jerry Jeudy, a junior wide receiver for the Crimson Tide, were named by Klatt as the conference’s top two players heading into the season. The duo will be looking to lead Alabama back to the College Football Playoff for the sixth straight year.
Here is Klatt’s full list of the top five SEC players entering 2019:
- Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama quarterback
- Jerry Jeudy, Alabama wide receiver
- Grant Delpit, LSU safety
- Andrew Thomas, Georgia offensive tackle
- Derrick Brown, Auburn defensive tackle
Although Tagovailoa didn’t win the Heisman last season — he finished second in voting to Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray — the Alabama offensive leader is the likely front-runner to win the award this year.
“He does not turn the ball over, he went down the field with tremendous accuracy, in particular from a small guy and I think he’s somewhat small in stature from the pocket,” Klatt said. “He’s got that accuracy down the field, and they were tremendous.”
Klatt broke down Tagovailoa and the other four players on his list for FOX Sports on Friday:
5. @AuburnFootball's Derrick Brown
4. @GeorgiaFootball's Andrew Thomas
3-1. ???@JoelKlatt picks his top 5 players in the @SEC ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cSyHqbSLdP— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 30, 2019
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
