Tua Tagovailoa didn’t want to be at the front of the line as Alabama went through drills after he was named the starter.

Tagovailoa talked to reporters for the first time since the season began on Tuesday and relayed a story about how Jalen Hurts reacted after the Louisville game. Tagovailoa started the season opener against the Cardinals and was officially named the team’s starter after his performance in the blowout win.

When the team practiced the next week, Hurts offered up his spot at the front — customarily for the team’s starter — after Tagovailoa took his normal place in line.

“I think the first game where coach named me as the starter — I think it was after Louisville — Jalen’s usually in front of me in our [stretch] line,” Tagovailoa said. “And Jalen told me to come in the front. Like ‘Bro, you got it. This is your team. You go in the front.’ And I told him no, that’s you. To have someone like Jalen stick within it, knowing that [he’s] been the starter for two years and have someone come in front of [him] now. The kind of character that he has and the kind of maturity that he’s shown throughout the year within our team this year, I think that’s something special.”

“We hear things going around with other quarterbacks and what not, but to have Jalen stick with it truly tells how he was raised as a person and kind of testifies to his family as well.”

Hurts could have redshirted after playing in up to four games in 2018 to preserve a second year of eligibility somewhere else if he decided to graduate transfer at the end of the season. He hasn’t, and has played in all five of Alabama’s games so far in 2018 as Tagovailoa has entrenched himself as the team’s starter.

Tagovailoa is 66-88 passing for 1,161 yards, 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions so far this season and is currently the leader in our Heisman Watch.

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (13) throws a touchdown pass against Texas A&M during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) More

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter

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