VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. -- Football season is still 86 days away for Alabama, but there’s no shortage of questions about the Crimson Tide’s upcoming campaign, especially the quarterback competition between Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts.

Even at a charity golf tournament.

Head coach Nick Saban was asked Thursday how difficult his decision will be to name a starter.

“It won’t be difficult at all because I think what we’re trying to do is give the guys an opportunity, and that’s the fair thing for both of them,” said Saban prior to the 12th annual Nick’s Kids charity golf tournament at Old Overton Country Club. “And that’s really what our goal is.”

Saban made the decision to start Tagovailoa, then a true freshman, in the second half of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Hurts started the game -- his 28th in an Alabama uniform -- but the Crimson Tide trailed Georgia, 13-0, at halftime and needed a spark on the offensive side of the football. So, in came the former 5-star recruit.

That set up what was expected to be one of the most riveting competitions in the country during spring practice. But that was put on hold after Tagovailoa injured his throwing hand on Day 1 of the spring and suffered a setback that kept him out of the A-Day Game.

Now healthy, though, Tagovailoa and Hurts served as counselors for the Elite 11 Finals over the weekend and both signal callers participated in the event’s pro day competition. And by all accounts, both Alabama representatives impressed at the quarterback retreat.

NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah spoke highly of both Tagovailoa:

“His feet are so quick. He’s phenomenal in his set-up. He’s got a quick delivery, quick release. He throws with probably the best anticipation of any of those quarterbacks that worked out there. So, even when you’re out there with a bunch of unfamiliar high school wide receivers and some young college receivers that they had out there that he was throwing to, the ball’s out before you get to the top of the route. So, the anticipation jumps out at you.”

And Hurts:

“The best thing was that I got a chance to interview him and talk to him for about 10 minutes and, you guys know, he’s just so mature. If an answer requires five words, he’s not going to give you 100. He’s going to be brief and business-like and to the point. He’s a big, thick, strong kid who was very classy in my interactions with him.

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“I wasn’t going to go deep into the whole ‘Who’s going to start? Are you coming back?’ I didn’t want to go down that road with him. I just kind of wanted to learn more about him as a kid.”

But despite the rave reviews from Los Angeles, Saban wants to see both quarterbacks “stay focused on what they need to do” in order to help the Crimson Tide reach the College Football Playoff for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year to end the 2018 season.

“I think that both players, aight, need to know that they need to win the team, that’s what they need to do,” Saban said. “And the best way for them to do that is stay focused on what they need to do, and I think anything that they do that brings attention to themselves probably erodes the opportunity for that to happen.

“So, I’d appreciate your help in just allowing that to happen, because it’s not going to happen any faster. You can’t make it happen faster. It’s going to be a process that we go through, and that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).