Paul Finebaum doesn’t expect Alabama to name starting QB after spring football
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While nearly everyone is ready to hand Tua Tagovailoa the starting quarterback duties in Tuscaloosa, Paul Finebaum is among those believing that Jalen Hurts won’t cede the reins of the Crimson Tide offense so easily this spring.
During a recent appearance on SportsCenter, Finebaum was asked to share his thoughts on the offseason quarterback competition between the two Alabama signal callers considering Tagovailoa’s performance in the title game.
Here’s what the SEC Network host had to say:
“I think it means that every single snap of spring practice is going to be watched and measured. Nick Saban has been through this before, never quite like this,” Finebaum said during his appearance on the program.
Finebaum even went so far as to suggest the competition won’t end in the spring and could carry over to the fall.
“What will (Saban) do? Will he name a starter after spring? I don’t think he will if it’s close, and quite frankly, I may be in the minority, but I think it will be close,” Finebaum continued. “Jalen Hurts is a phenomenal quarterback. We all know his statistics we all know what he’s done. He had a bad national championship game, but he’s still one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC.
“If Saban is smart, and he is brilliant almost Einstein-like, I think he’ll drag this one as long as possible. Because he doesn’t want to lose Jalen Hurts before the season begins.”
The SportsCenter host then asked if Alabama could run a two-quarterback system in 2018. While noting the offense’s transition, Finebaum balked at that notion — for the most part.
“It’s possible, there again for the third year in a row there is a new offensive coordinator at Alabama, so that would be something to consider,” he said. “There are positions and schemes you can use both to do that but I don’t think Saban likes to do that.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
