TUSCALOOSA, Ala., — The replay of the broadcast offers an eerie foreshadowing of a moment Alabama fans won’t soon forget. “That’s about the drama, right? When will Tua check out for the afternoon,” ESPN play-by-play analyst Steve Levy questioned moments before Tua Tagovailoa’s horrific hip injury against Mississippi State over the weekend. “Bama’s had five possessions, five touchdowns and looking for more in the final three minutes of this first half.” The following events played out as a tragedy. Tagovailoa rolled to his left on the next play after he was flushed out of the pocket. From there, the left-hander got rid of the ball right before taking a hit from two Mississippi State defenders, sending him plummeting to the turf. Then things got serious.

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Tagovailoa rolled over on his hands and knees. His helmet had been knocked off on the play, leaving a cut on the bridge of his nose. Multiple players checked on the fallen quarterback as trainers rushed to his assistance. Meanwhile, Nick Saban stood arms crossed on the sidelines before beginning to pace and call to his assistants for updates. “The first thing they said on the field was he had a bloody nose,” Saban recalled during his Monday news conference. “And then for about 30-40 seconds he didn’t get up and I’m saying, must be a really bad bloody nose. Then I over the head-set sort of inquired and they said, ‘Well, his hip is hurt.’ So I walked out on the field, and they told me that his hip was hurt.” Starting right tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. was one of the first onto the scene and could instantly tell something was seriously wrong with Tagovailoa. The offensive lineman said he called over to see if his quarterback was all right and received an agonizing “Nah,” in response. “Usually when somebody goes down, you can kinda see they’re trying to get up, or a few seconds later the trainer will come over and see what's wrong, they kind of pick him,” Wills said Monday. “There was a point where he was down for a couple of minutes and I was like, ‘This is more serious than just his ankle.’”

Tagovailoa suffered a high-ankle sprain against Tennessee on Oct. 19 and was able to return for the game against LSU on Nov. 9, less than three weeks removed from tightrope surgery. There was question of whether the Heisman candidate would start against Mississippi State, and as the broadcast alluded to, how long he would play if he did. After what seemed like an eternity of tense moments on the ground, Tagovailoa was helped to his feet but still had to be propped up by two trainers. A cart then arrived to take the quarterback to the locker room as he left the field to an uncertain ovation. “They didn’t know the severity of the injury,” Saban said. “They thought that he dislocated his hip but they didn’t know for sure. So they took him in and then they told me at halftime that he did dislocate his hip. But they did not know the severity until they did further testing.” The second half cut through some of the angst for the Alabama players as their on-field duties served as a necessary distraction from the previous drama. There was a feeling that things weren’t good for Tagovailoa, but updates wouldn’t reach the Crimson Tide’s sidelines until after the game. “It wasn't real quick,” defensive back Shyheim Carter said when asked how word spread to the team. “I guess like maybe after he had went under the tunnel. Kinda like — yeah, that he was hurt. I really didn't know until after the game what the injury really was.” After being carted off the field, Tagovailoa was airlifted to St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Birmingham where he received testing to determine the best course of treatment. Shortly following the game, it was reported that he would miss the remainder of the season.

“I’m just hurt about what happened to our quarterback earlier,” running back Najee Harris said during postgame interviews. “I’m not in the mood to answer any questions… (Tagovailoa) means a lot to the team. It’s our guy. I came here at the same time he did. We’ve been friends ever since my freshman year, and to see him go down like that, it really hurts.” Tagovailoa was flown to Houston Sunday night and underwent successful hip surgery Monday morning. According to a statement released by team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain, the quarterback’s “prognosis is excellent,” and he is expected to return to Tuscaloosa in the next several days to begin his rehab. Former Alabama C.J. Mosley experienced a similar injury during the 2012 BCS National Championship game against LSU. The former Butkus Award winner currently plays for the New York Jets and is a four-time Pro-Bowler. “We lost a great leader, a great player on our team and we’re all hurting because of it,” Saban said of Tagovailoa. “Just like any time you lose somebody in your family, for whatever reasons, everybody in the family is hurting. And this is all about people and this is all about the person. We’re pleased that the surgery went successfully today and they expect him to have a full recovery. “I’ve talked to Tua. I feel bad. I’m hurting. So I called him on Saturday night to cheer him up and he cheered me up. I called him last night because I’d been sitting in that room for 10 hours yesterday watching film. I called him to cheer him up and he cheers me up. This is a guy that has great spirit. He’s very positive about just about everything he does and the effect that he has on other people.” Saban said Alabama will not only have to match Tagovailoa’s impact on the field but off it as well. The junior was named a team captain before Saturday’s game against Mississippi State and was thought to be one of the leading voices in the Crimson Tide’s locker room. “I can think back to four or five players and actually can say I really love those guys as people, the way they did things, the contribution that they made, how they affected other people, and Tua would be one of those four or five guys,” Saban said. “I mean, he’s just a fabulous person, a really good player, really cares about his team and his teammates and haven’t had one issue or problem with him since he’s been here.” Added Wills: “He's a leader on and off the field. I don’t know how many people can see that clearly, they see us just playing and that’s about it. He's a leader no matter what. He always comes with positive energy, always brings that like, that light that you need to the team. From here on out, somebody has to step up, or a group of people, to take over that role.”

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Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.

Contact Andrew Bone for all of your real estate needs; buyers, sellers, investors, developers. Property management; BoneHomeTours.com Call 205-531-5577 or click here

