Lane Kiffin developed three different quarterbacks during his three-year stint as the Alabama offensive coordinator from 2014-16 -- one of which is still in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in Jalen Hurts -- and was involved with several of the Crimson Tide’s past quarterback battles.

During a Thursday appearance on the “Marty Smith’s America” podcast, the current head coach at Florida Atlantic shared his thoughts on the competition between Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.

“They’re in a great position,” Kiffin said. “Everybody in the country would like to have it. People say it’s a bad thing. It’s a great thing. You have two dynamic players with dynamic skills that are in their first and second year of college … which is why everybody thought we wouldn’t be able to get Tua with Jalen coming off an SEC Offensive Player of the Year season, and Tua still came, which you saw his competitiveness.”

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, Tagovailoa spent time at several quarterback camps to start the summer, including the Steve Clarkson Quarterback Retreat, which Kiffin also attended. He said Tagovailoa “looks great, throwing the ball great. So, it’s going to be an interesting competition.”

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Asked to assess Tagovailoa’s throwing ability, Kiffin shared his thoughts with this story.

“Oh, top one percent,” Kiffin said. “At this camp there was this quarterback competition thing, and all the top college guys around the country were there. He just picks up the ball, (the target is) about 40 yards away, he’s got to throw kind of horizontally, like he did in the championship game, into this net thing that a normal guy might get one 1-for-5. He picks up two and gets 2-for-2. That’s just how he is.

“His touch is just … when he was in high school, people compared him to Steve Young. Just a unique ability.”

To listen to Kiffin’s entire interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith, CLICK HERE.

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