TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban isn’t taking suggestions on how to handle Alabama's quarterback position this week as Tua Tagovailoa (knee) and Jalen Hurts (ankle) deal with their respective injuries. Although, if the head coach was open to new ideas, Jarvis Payne has one that worked pretty well in the past.

Don’t worry, Payne, a high school head coach in Oklahoma, has no intentions of telling Saban how to run his offense. However, he does have a history with one of Alabama’s biggest offensive weapons. Payne coached Crimson Tide running back Josh Jacobs during high school, including his senior season in which the two led McClain High School to its only playoff appearance in the past seven years.

During that season, Jacobs earned all-state honors, rushing for 2,704 yards and 31 touchdowns while averaging an eye-popping 15.1 yards per carry over 11 games. Almost all those yards came from the quarterback position as Payne put his star athlete behind center in a revamped Wildcat offense.

Payne switched from a spread attack before Jacobs’ senior season in an attempt to get the three-star back more attention on the recruiting scene. The logic was simple — eliminate the middle man and get Jacobs the ball as many times as possible.

“I knew he could do it, but I didn’t realize he’d be that great at it,” Payne said. “Once I saw, it was like, ‘Man, there’s so much we can do with you.’ It just fell into place, and people really had a hard time defending it.

“He’s a natural in that package. His vision is impeccable, and he makes good decisions. He can actually throw the ball a little bit out of that, too. He’s the full package because he’s so versatile. With him, you get speed and power. He’s the perfect guy to run the Wildcat.”

While no one expects Alabama to transform its offense around Jacobs this week, Saban has dabbled with the Wildcat formation the past two games.

It started against LSU as Jacobs took a snap on a fourth-and-1 from the Tigers’ 16-yard line, picking up four yards to extend a drive which eventually resulted in a 23-yard field goal. Last week, he motioned Tagovailoa out wide on a third-and-1 from the Mississippi State 49-yard line before trucking two defenders for a 10-yard gain on Alabama’s opening touchdown drive.

“It’s smooth,” Jacobs said following the game. “We’ve still got a lot of crinks and wrinkles to it, but it’s 2-for-2, so it’s all right.”

As for if we’ll be seeing the formation more in the future?

“Maybe,” Jacobs shrugged.

Alabama isn’t about to give away any of its secrets. While head coach Nick Saban wasn’t ready to commit either, it sounds as if Jacobs hasn’t taken his last snap behind center this season.

“I like whatever’s successful,” Saban said. “OK, so as long as we’re successful in it I like it. As soon as we’re unsuccessful in it, I won’t like it as much. Is that fair enough?”