Think about the eyes.

As the final play of the College Football Playoff national championship game was analyzed last January, there was focus on the eyes of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. His 41-yard walkoff overtime touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith was made easier because Tagovailoa had allowed the Georgia safety to read his eyes, sending the defender to the middle of the field.

Brian Daboll, Bama’s offensive coordinator, had called “one of Tua’s favorite plays” and the freshman quarterback had delivered a perfect pass to Smith for the 26-23 win and the Crimson Tide’s 17th national championship.

What would Jalen Hurts have done?

In the afterglow of Tagovailoa’s second half heroics in Atlanta last January, anyone considering Hurts being in that position would have expected the two-year Tide starting quarterback to have had eyes downfield, but not looking off the safety; looking for a place to run.

Forgotten is the passing of Hurts in the come-from-behind win over Mississippi State, the winning points coming on Hurts’ 26-yard pass to that same DeVonta Smith with 25 seconds remaining in the game in Starkville.

Nevertheless, there is no mistaking what our eyes tell us. Tua Tagovailoa is a more effective downfield passer than Jalen Hurts. Frankly, based on the limited examples we have seen, Tua is a better downfield passer than almost anyone.

Most think that Alabama Coach Nick Saban is just playing mind games when he insists the quarterback competition is ongoing. Surely he can see what the vast majority of Bama fans see, that there is no comparison: Tua is the better passer and therefore the better quarterback.

There is, however, more than one way to skin a cat; or quarterback a winning football team. Remember Jalen Hurts running 30 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes to play in the national championship game at the end of the 2016 season? That play would be prominent on the video screens in Bryant-Denny Stadium but for Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson taking the Tigers downfield – by passing – to the winning touchdown with a second to play.

Even though it is highly unlikely that Hurts will become as accomplished a downfield passer as Tagovailoa, we are not comparing apples to oranges here.

Tua Tagovailoa (23) and Jalen Hurts (2) are competing

Jalen Hurts can pass. In his two years as Bama’s starter he has completed 394 of 637 passes for 4,.861 yards with 40 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions. Nine of those interceptions came in his freshman year. Last year there was only one.

“That’s because he won’t take a chance on the tough pass,” goes the criticism of Hurts. Hurts probably pays more attention to what Saban thinks, and Bama’s head coach thinks turnovers are very, very bad.

He also thinks that taking a sack for a 16-yard loss in overtime of the national championship game when behind by three points is bad. That’s what Tua did before he threw the winning touchdown pass. Earlier in the game he had thrown an interception, though the critical error was wiped out when the Tide defense intercepted back.

Hurts earned Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a true freshman in great part because of what he could do with his legs. In two years he has run 345 times for 1,809 yards (5.2 yards per carry) with 21 touchdowns.

Tagovailoa has not had the opportunities that Hurts has had. In his first year he played in nine games, which means he didn’t see the field in five. That means lost opportunities for success, but also for failure.

Unquestionably, Tua showed the talent for success, one reason that he is listed as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate based on just limited exposure. This is not Jeremy Johnson. Winning a national championship game will do that for you.

Tagovailoa had been spectacular before last January 8 against Georgia. In playing most of the second half against Vanderbilt, he was 8-10 passing for 103 yards with two touchdowns. Those TD passes were eye-openers. The first was a bullet on the money to freshman Jerry Jeudy on a crossing pattern for a 34-yard score. The second came following Tua’s acrobatic move to avoid a sack, then quickly eyeing (who else?) DeVonta Smith in the end zone and connecting with him on a 27-yard touchdown.

We know Tua can pass. He completed 49 of his 77 attempts for 636 yards and 11 TDs against 2 interceptions in his freshman year. He also can run, picking up 133 yards on 27 carries (4.9 per attempt) and 2 TDs. A key play in Bama’s comeback win over Georgia was his run for a first down.

When Alabama resumes practice in August, the quarterback competition will be real. Someone will win the starting job, although when Nick Saban issues his annual week-of-the-opening-game depth chart it wouldn’t be a surprise to see:

Quarterback – Jalen Hurts OR Tua Tagovailoa

What Hurts and Tagovailoa have proved is that they both have talents and both are winners. How that plays out in the 2018 football season is anyone’s guess. Saban has played two quarterbacks in his head coaching history and he has said on several occasions that he is not averse to that plan.

(In Alabama’s case, the evidence is strong against the adage that a team that has two quarterbacks doesn’t have one.)

Just maybe, Nick Saban has a plan, as he has had a plan for everything else as head coach of the Crimson Tide.

It is no easy task for defensive coordinators preparing to play Alabama. Throw in the possibility of having to prepare for an offense with Hurts at quarterback and an offense with Tagovailoa at quarterback and it probably means a couple of extra aspirin tablets for the opposing coach.