Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts are squaring off in a Week 7 “Sunday Evening Soccer” recreation that may absolutely delight Alabama followers.
Hurts and Tagovailoa each performed key roles within the dynastic success Nick Saban has loved with the Crimson Tide. Hurts was the workforce’s first true freshman starter below Saban and helped lead the workforce to back-to-back nationwide championship video games.
And Tagovailoa? He was the one who relieved a struggling Hurts in the course of the 2018 nationwide championship recreation to guide Alabama to a comeback win over arch-rival Georgia.
Each Hurts and Tagovailoa loved the best of highs throughout their respective faculty careers, and their willingness to work collectively and assist each other enhance earned the respect of Saban.
“I by no means had two gamers that had been actually, actually good gamers on the identical place who really supported one another the best way these two guys supported one another after they had been right here,” Saban mentioned of the duo, per The Tuscaloosa Information. “I believe that comes from mutual respect and each guys being nice workforce guys and placing the workforce earlier than their very own private emotions.”
Thus, it is no shock that every has discovered success on the NFL degree.
Tagovailoa and Hurts had been touted prospects within the 2020 NFL Draft. Whereas Tagovailoa received extra of the eye, Hurts has proved to be simply nearly as good because the top-five decide regardless of being chosen within the second spherical.
BENDER: How Jalen Hurts getting benched at Alabama paved option to Eagles Tremendous Bowl
However simply how do Hurts’ stats as a professional evaluate to these of Tagovailoa? This is a breakdown of the previous Alabama teammates as they’re set to do battle within the NFL for the primary time.
Tua Tagovailoa stats with the Dolphins
Tagovailoa’s NFL profession received off to a slower begin than was initially anticipated regardless of his being the fifth general decide within the 2020 NFL Draft. Why? As a result of he was coping with the after-effects of a hip damage he suffered in faculty that very almost derailed his skilled profession fully.
The Dolphins introduced Tagovailoa alongside slowly and used Ryan Fitzpatrick forward of him throughout his rookie season. Finally, Tagovailoa began 9 video games as then-coach Brian Flores tried to lift the ceiling of his workforce, however he was merely OK at greatest.
In 2021, Tagovailoa was handed the reins of the Dolphins offense and carried out erratically. He threw simply 16 touchdowns in comparison with 10 interceptions throughout 13 begins, and there have been questions on whether or not his lack of mobility and questionable decision-making would lead him to change into a bust on the NFL degree.
That made Tagovailoa’s third season all-important. He made it depend and proved to be a superb associate for coach Mike McDaniel. Tagovailoa executed the new-look Miami offense to perfection and was an early-season MVP candidate earlier than a few early concussions slowed his progress.
Nonetheless, Tagovailoa continued to develop, and as he turned extra assured, his recreation improved. He started the 2023 season exhibiting flashes of MVP kind and was the NFL’s main passer by six weeks.
Under is a have a look at Tagovailoa’s season-by-season stats with the Dolphins so far.
| 12 months | File | Comp. % | Passing yards | Move TDs | INTs | Y/A | Passer score | Speeding yards | Rush TDs |
| 2020 | 6-3 | 64.1 | 1,814 | 11 | 5 | 6.3 | 87.1 | 109 | 3 |
| 2021 | 7-5 | 67.8 | 2,653 | 16 | 10 | 6.8 | 90.1 | 128 | 3 |
| 2022 | 8-5 | 64.8 | 3,548 | 25 | 8 | 8.9 | 105.5 | 70 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5-1 | 71.1 | 1,876 | 14 | 5 | 9.5 | 114.1 | 29 | 0 |
If Tagovailoa continues on the tempo with which he began the 2023 season, he would be the NFL MVP frontrunner. And below McDaniel’s watch, he has confirmed that he’s a high-quality quarterback who will discover plenty of NFL success — supplied that he can keep wholesome and keep away from concussions.
MORE: Breaking down Tua Tagovailoa’s damage historical past, from Alabama to the Dolphins
Jalen Hurts stats with the Eagles
Hurts’ path to NFL stardom was a bit totally different than Tagovailoa’s. He transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma after dropping his beginning job to Tagovailoa and sitting a 12 months behind the gifted southpaw.
Hurts managed to enhance his draft inventory sufficient with Lincoln Riley to change into a second-round decide, nevertheless it was extensively anticipated that he would not be used a lot. In any case, the Eagles had simply signed Carson Wentz to an enormous extension, so Hurts was simply considered as a high-upside decide.
Nonetheless, Wentz was dreadful through the 2020 NFL season, and Hurts finally took over for him within the last 4 video games. He went solely 1-Three in these contests, however the Philadelphia employees favored what they noticed out of him sufficient to commerce Wentz and belief Hurts because the starter.
Hurts was at all times an elite runner, however he has improved his accuracy and field-reading talents in every of his seasons as a starter. And although he has been a bit much less constant in 2023 whereas studying the way to play below new Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, he has led the workforce to a 5-1 document a 12 months after posting a 14-1 mark within the 2023 common season.
Under is a have a look at Hurts’ season-by-season stats with the Eagles so far.
| 12 months | File | Comp. % | Passing yards | Move TDs | INTs | Y/A | Passer score | Speeding yards | Rush TDs |
| 2020 | 1-3 | 52 | 1061 | 6 | 4 | 7.2 | 77.6 | 354 | 3 |
| 2021 | 8-7 | 61.3 | 3144 | 16 | 9 | 7.3 | 87.2 | 784 | 10 |
| 2022 | 14-1 | 66.5 | 3701 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 101.5 | 760 | 13 |
| 2023 | 5-1 | 66.2 | 1542 | 7 | 7 | 7.2 | 84.7 | 253 | 5 |
After all, it should be famous that Hurts has made playoff begins, one thing that Tagovailoa hasn’t but completed throughout his profession. Total, Hurts has a 2-2 document in 4 video games and has accomplished 62.Three p.c of his passes for 837 yards, 4 touchdowns and two interceptions in these contests whereas working for 182 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Hurts might not have led the Eagles to a win in Tremendous Bowl 58, however his profession numbers each within the common season and postseason have been nice.
MORE: What did Jalen Hurts get his Masters in?
Tua Tagovailoa stats vs. Jalen Hurts stats
So, which of the previous Alabama quarterbacks has loved the higher profession so far? It is onerous to definitively say, as each have been good.
Tagovailoa has been the higher passer of the 2, finishing the next proportion of his passes and posting an general passer score seven factors increased than that of Hurts. He additionally is thrashing Hurts within the race to 10,000 passing yards and is averaging 0.Three yards per try greater than his counterpart.
That mentioned, Hurts has been the higher of the 2 working the ball, to the shock of no one. He has greater than 5 instances as many speeding scores as Tagovailoa and higher than six instances the speeding manufacturing that Tagovailoa has posted throughout his profession.
Under is a have a look at how the 2 stack up head-to-head throughout their three-plus-year careers.
| Stats | Tua Tagovailoa | Jalen Hurts |
| File | 26-14 | 28-12 |
| Comp. % | 66.5 | 63 |
| Passing yards | 9,891 | 9,448 |
| Move TDs | 66 | 51 |
| INTs | 28 | 26 |
| Y/A | 7.8 | 7.5 |
| Passer score | 97.9 | 90.9 |
| Speeding yards | 336 | 2,151 |
| Rush TDs | 6 | 31 |
In the event you’re on the lookout for a tiebreaker, Hurts has the best end within the NFL MVP voting — he got here in second within the 2022 NFL MVP race behind Patrick Mahomes — and has performed in a Tremendous Bowl. Comparatively, Tagovailoa hasn’t but performed in a playoff recreation, as he wasn’t wholesome for the Dolphins vs. Payments wild-card recreation final season.
However in truth, you could possibly justify a case for both quarterback and again it up with whichever stats greatest fit your argument.
