Tua Tagovailoa throws one of the prettiest deep passes in college football, and he found plenty of success taking shots down the field last season.
Despite that, Alabama head coach Nick Saban wants to see more caution and “better judgement” from his quarterback during the 2019 season.
Last season, Tagovailoa threw just six interceptions, which was tied for the eighth-best total in all of college football. However, he threw two interceptions in the National Championship Game — including a devastating pick-six on his first possession of the game.
Tagovailoa admitted he was pressing in that game, saying, “I felt like we needed to score and I just didn’t take what they gave me,” per AL.com.
During SEC Media Days, Saban touched on his quarterback’s ability and penchant for going deep when he thinks there’s a big play waiting to happen. In his typical fashion, he politely scolded his quarterback and urged improvement with decision making.
“Sometimes those things have worked out extremely well. And other times they’ve led to some disasters. So having a little better judgment about when to say when can be an asset.”
Saban is nothing if not a stern task master. He is constantly going after his players, and his assistant coaches, for the negative stuff that occurs — even when the outcome of games are well in hand.
The sky is the limit for Tagovailoa and the Alabama offense in 2019. And based on the way Saban has been talking this offseason, the entire team will have a huge chip on its shoulder after being humbled by Clemson in the title game.