Two Former Tide Signal Callers Are Lighting Up The NFL

In the past several years, Alabama has been pumping out quarterback talent. Whether is was Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, or potentially Bryce Young in the upcoming NFL draft, Tuscaloosa has not had a shortage of talented quarterbacks for a long time.

Two of the Tide's best quarterback products, Eagles' field general Hurts and Dolphins' signal caller Tagovailoa have been dominant for their respective teams this season. Both of them are leading their team to the top of their division and have some of the best records in the NFL.

Both Hurts and Tagovailoa dominated during their shared time at the Capstone. Tagovailoa took over for Hurts during the 2017 national championship and led the Tide to a 26-23 comeback thriller to take down the Georgia Bulldogs in thrilling fashion.

Hurts stayed at Alabama for his Junior season in an attempt win his job back but ultimately came up short as Tagovailoa was named the starter. Hurts slotted into a mentor role for the Sophomore, watching from the sidelines as Tagovailoa led Alabama to a perfect regular season. In almost poetic fashion, Hurts stepped in for a banged up Tagovailoa in the 2018 SEC Championship game and led the Tide to another comeback win over the Bulldogs.

The next season, Hurts transferred to Oklahoma while Tagovailoa continued to be the starter at Alabama.

During that season, Tagovailoa was making a run for the Heisman before he suffered a devastating hip injury in a November matchup against Mississippi State, prematurely ending his college career. Hurts finished 2nd in Heisman voting that year while Tagovailoa slated in at 10th.

Get our free mobile app

In the 2020 NFL draft, Tagovailoa and Hurts were amongst the first 5 quarterbacks taken, Tagovailoa being selected 5th overall pick while Hurts was taken with the 53rd overall pick.

Both quarterbacks faced their struggles early on in there pro careers but showed flashes of being elite. Now, with both quarterbacks having a revamped receiving cores and better systems around them, they have both put themselves inside conversations about the top quarterbacks in the league.

Hurts has lead the Eagles to an NFL-best 10-1 while putting up the best numbers of his young career. The Eagles are one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL, with an elite defense, an excellent receiver duo in AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, an elite head coach with Nick Sirianni, having Jalen Hurts at the helm is just the cherry on top. Hurts is currently +450 to win the MVP.

Tagovailoa has had a breakout year, proving all of the haters wrong, leading the Dolphins to an AFC East leading 8-3 record. He is 14th in the NFL in passing yards with 2564 and T-5th in passing touchdowns with 19, keep in mind, Tagovailoa missed 2 1/2 games after getting knocked out in the Dolphins week 4 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. He is currently +500 to win the MVP.

The success of these two gunslingers will help Nick Saban continue to bring elite quarterback talent to Tuscaloosa and help continue the dynasty.