TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Tua Tagovailoa can’t give it away.

His knee brace or the football, that is.

Alabama’s star sophomore quarterback has been dealing with a knee injury since the Arkansas game, but he insists he is at full health. So much so that he is trying to get rid of his knee brace.

“I’m 100-percent on my knee, I feel 100-percent on my knee,” Tagovailoa said Monday in front of television cameras. “A lot of the guys, I ask them if they need a knee brace because I don’t need it.

“But these guys want to keep me safe, so I’ve got to use a knee brace.”

After eight games, Tagovailoa is the nation’s leader in passer rating (238.85) and yards per attempt (13.6). His 25 touchdowns are tied for fourth-most in a single season in Crimson Tide history, and he is the only player with at least 100 pass attempts to not throw an interception.

His streak of 152 throws without a pick is tied for sixth place in the Alabama record books with AJ McCarron. McCarron also holds the record with 291 passes without an interception thrown.

What does he attribute his turnover-free football to this season?

“Coaching, very good coaching, the play calls,” Tagovailoa said. “There’s been many, many times where I should’ve thrown an interception, but I’ve been lucky enough that the guys didn’t catch the ball.”

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Nick Saban agreed with that when he spoke to reporters during the bye week.

“He’s done a really good job,” Saban said last Monday in Birmingham. “He had one Saturday (against Tennessee) that should’ve been intercepted, the guy dropped it. But he has done a really good job all year long. I think he’s really comfortable with the offense.

“... We emphasize all the time of how important it is to take care of the football, how important turnover margin is, getting turnovers on defense, not giving them up on offense. So, I think that’s a really critical stat in winning, and I think both of our quarterbacks -- we always say every possession needs to end in a kick. It can be a punt, it can be a field goal or an extra point, aight. When you give the ball to the other team, the point value is almost four points every time you make a turnover.”

This weekend, Tagovailoa and the Tide’s nation-leading scoring offense will travel to Louisiana to take on No. 4 LSU and an aggressive Tigers defense. LSU ranks sixth in the SEC in passing defense, giving up 199.8 yards per game. Alabama averages 347.4 through the air.

Tagovailoa knows that facing LSU in Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 3, will be a challenge for himself and his teammates. And he knows mistake-free football will be key to the Tide’s success in Baton Rouge against a Tigers team that leads the nation with 14 interceptions.

“They’re very sound as a defense,” Tagovailoa said. “This is probably going to be the best front seven that we’re going to face up to date, as well as secondary up to date. It’s one of those things where you’ve got to play it a play at a time, and you just move on from there.”

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

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