Alabama's title game star Tagovailoa out until August with re-injured left hand

TUSCALOOSA — Three months removed from orchestrating arguably one of the most memorable plays in program history, the maestro of “second-and-26” is officially out for the foreseeable future.

For the second time in less than a month, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned from Birmingham on April 16 with his throwing hand heavily wrapped after undergoing a surgical procedure to repair his re-injured left hand.

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Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban confirmed Tagovailoa has been ruled “out” for Saturday’s A-Day game despite the sophomore working off to the side — where he was spotted gripping a tiny football — during the open media viewing period at Tuesday’s practice.

“I said he was out the other day,” Saban told reporters Tuesday night during a visit in Mobile, according to an AL.com video. “He re-injured his hand and we’re going to hold him out the rest of the spring. So that hasn’t changed.”

Tagovailoa’s repeated injuries have placed a considerable cloud over Alabama’s on-going quarterback competition between himself and incumbent junior starter Jalen Hurts, who Saban said “has done a really good job” of further developing confidence as a passer this spring.

Meanwhile, Crimson Tide fans chomping at the bit to see more of the second-year quarterback from Hawaii have instead agonized over what has effectively been a lost spring for the left-handed gunslinger.

That frustration has apparently even spilled over to some of Alabama’s offensive playmakers eager for Tagovailoa to build off his sensational second-half comeback in last season’s national championship game.

“Definitely feel like we’re all kind of frustrated with how the injury setbacks have been for him just because we know what kind of guy he is,” senior tight end Hale Hentges said Tuesday. “He’s a competitor, anytime you have this many great quarterbacks it just overall helps the dynamic of the group and helps competition and it helps everyone get better.”

While injuries are a natural part of the game of football, and many within the Crimson Tide locker room can sympathize with what Tagovailoa is going through, there is little doubt among them that he’ll return for preseason practice as good as new.

“When a player, your brother, gets hurt, you don’t want him hurt and you care for him,” senior offensive guard Lester Cotton said Tuesday. “But we have a great training staff that’s going to take care of him. I feel when he comes back he’s going to be 110 percent better than he was.”

Still, with Tagovailoa severely limited through much of spring practice — including being held to just 15-20 snaps in the first scrimmage — his absence in certain drills has been felt by many of his offensive teammates.

“I think from an offensive aspect we really miss Tua, not just because all the plays that he makes, but because of what he brings as far as leadership and character, you know toughness and overall just being a great person,” Hentges said. “So that has been a little frustrating, but that’s something that he can get better and overall we look forward to him coming back and competing in the fall.”

While not necessarily having the same impact on Alabama’s locker room, the Hurts-Tagovailoa debate has certainly polarized much of the Crimson Tide fan base, with statewide sports radio shows regularly expounding on the topic as fans and media alike debate the perceived strengths and weaknesses of each quarterback.

For their teammates, the competition at the team’s most high-profile position — where Hurts is 26-2 in two seasons as the starter, and Tagovailoa is a gifted-and-proven passer that is more than capable of winning games — only reinforces the coach-inspired perception that no job is ever truly safe at Alabama.

“Well I mean they’re both such great competitors. I really don’t think that because one guy has started for a while, or whatever, or one guy made the last play — we tend to not dwell on what’s happened in the past,” Hentges said. “I mean Coach Saban always tells us you’re always as good as your last play. That’s something that we look forward to every time we go out there.

“Your spot is never set in stone, and that’s something that makes Alabama so great is that every time you go out you have to compete and win your spot. It doesn’t matter if you’re a redshirt senior who started for four years, you have to earn it every day.”

Of course, for Tagovailoa, that day will have to wait until August at the earliest.