Nick Saban is more concerned about Tua Tagovailoa’s health than he is about his former championship-winning Alabama quarterback ever playing another snap following his third concussion in as many years.
"I will talk to him today, I haven't been able to get ahold of him yet," Saban said on the September 13 edition of “The Pat McAfee Show.” "Tua's such a great competitor, but I think this has to be a medical decision. ... I think Tua and his family should listen to all the medical evidence ... and they shouldn't be influenced by anybody else."
Saban warmly built up Tagovailoa’s character while speaking with a worried tone.
"I can only tell you what kind of player he is,” Saban prefaced before saying, “He's a great competitor. He's a great person, and this is a great family."
Nick Saban fondly remembers Tua Tagovailoa from his Alabama career
Saban made sure to speak about more than just Tagovailoa’s concussion suffered on September 12 against the Buffalo Bills – instead using his triumph of replacing Jalen Hurts in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship to Florida’s current situation under center between Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway.
“To be honest with you, because I haven’t been at practice and I’ve only seen Florida play one game,” Saban said. “I haven’t really seen the freshman play. I’m not sure which stage of development they’re in and who gives them the best chance to win.
“Like, you know, when we played Tua and took Jalen Hurts out after he was 26-2 as a starter, we kind of knew that was happening, okay. It just didn’t happen in a moment. You know, Tua was gaining the confidence of the team. The skill guys liked him because he could throw it. The situation came up in a game where we could put him in there.”
Saban will always have Tagovailoa’s heroism during the 2018 title game if we’ve seen the QB’s last snap.