As Mac Jones threw passes on Monday during Alabama’s first practice viewing period of the week, Steve Sarkisian was positioned right there next to him — watching, talking and continuing the process of getting Jones ready for this weekend.

It’s been an ongoing process for Sarkisian and Nick Saban these past few days, prepping Jones as the redshirt sophomore gets set to start at quarterback for Alabama when the team hosts Arkansas on Saturday.

While the team is optimistic it will have Tua Tagovailoa back in time for its game against LSU Nov. 9 according to sources, the Tide will need Jones to lead the way for at least this one game.

Through three practices, Saban seems pleased with what he’s seen from the player whom Alabama teammates refer to as “Joker” because of his playful personality.

“Mac’s got to be the leader of the team,” Saban said. “He’s got to take over the team. When you’re the backup player, you’re a little bit like the sparring partner, but you can’t be that anymore. You’re the lead fighter. You’re the top dog. You’ve got to do things with confidence. You’ve got to take command and you’ve got to play with confidence. And you can’t have bad body language in front of the rest of your teammates. Regardless of what happens, you’ve got to be able to play the next play. And he’s responded really well and I think practiced pretty well the last couple of days.”

In essence, it could be an early audition for Jones for next year’s starting quarterback competition.

With Tagovailoa in position to turn pro after the season, Jones may be in a position to compete for Alabama’s starting QB job along with others like current freshman Taulia Tagovailoa and five-star recruit Bryce Young.

While Jones didn’t have great numbers against Tennessee last week — completing just 6 of 11 passes for only 72 yards — his stats would have been better if not for two drops, including one from Najee Harris on a pass across the middle that would have gone for a big gain.

In addition, Alabama expects Jones to be better after having a full week of work with the first-team offense and knowing that he’s going to be playing, especially with coaches like Sarkisian close-by to help throughout the week.

“All In all, I thought he handled the situation really well (against Tennessee),” Saban said. “It’s a difficult circumstance to get thrown into. We’ve got a lot of confidence in Mac. With a week of preparation, I think he’ll do a lot better in this game.”

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.