There was no animosity in his voice. It wasn’t a rant.

Jedrick Wills was asked how Jalen Hurts handled being benched in the CFP national championship game and the following season for Tua Tagovailoa during his time at Alabama under Nick Saban.

“Jalen was a leader since Day 1,” Wills told The Rich Eisen Show this week. “I feel like he was always the guy, even after Tua went in and did what he did, ended up taking the starting job. Jalen was still a leader. He was still, day in and day out, working on his game to try and be a better quarterback. He never once changed his personality when it came to practice or game day.”

The story, of course, is well known.

Tagovailoa, the freshman quarterback, came off the bench to spark a comeback and threw a 41-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith that gave No. 4 Alabama a 26-23 overtime victory against No. 3 Georgia for the 2017 College Football Playoff national championship.

That’s not to say Wills doubted Tagovailoa.

“I knew Tua was special since high school,” Wills said.

Wills explained he first saw Tagovailoa at The Opening in Eugene, Oregon. “He was lighting everybody up,” Wills said.

Check out the full interview below in which Wills also talks about blocking for both a left-handed quarterback and a right-handed quarterback.

Jedrick Wills (@JWills73) joined the @RichEisenShow today to talk about what it was like blocking for both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts at Alabama. 🎙🐘 pic.twitter.com/YIHPtke7q2 — Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) April 6, 2020

Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.