They wanted to test him.
In the first scrimmage of fall camp, Alabama coach Nick Saban wanted to see if Mac Jones could handle the pressure. Jones, Alabama’s projected backup quarterback, lined up against Alabama’s No.1 defense and, according to Saban, passed his first exam of the 2019 preseason.
“He had a high completion percentage, threw for some big plays, really did a good job,” Saban said.
In a relatively quiet August for Alabama after that embarrassing loss to Clemson, the progress of its backup quarterback might be the most important news. If this season is anything like the last two for Alabama, Jones will be tested before it’s all over.
In each of the last two seasons, Alabama has needed two quarterbacks to win championship games. With Tua Tagovailoa starting for Alabama and prone to injury, does anyone expect this season to be any different?
Would Alabama have come from behind and defeated Georgia in the 2017 national championship game without Tua coming off the bench? Absolutely not.
Would Alabama have rallied against Georgia in the fourth quarter in the 2018 SEC championship game without backup Jalen Hurts? Nope.
Can Alabama win an SEC or national championship with Jones at quarterback?
Before you answer that question, don’t forget that Alabama has won national championships with Jake Coker and Greg McElroy.
Jones, who is entering his redshirt sophomore season for Alabama, isn’t going to land on any preseason lists of most important players in the SEC, but he’s replacing one of the best and most experienced quarterbacks in college football, and backing up a quarterback who couldn’t stay healthy last season.
If recent history is a guide, then Jones will be called upon this season to play meaningful minutes.
There are fans already clamoring for Tua’s younger brother, Taulia, to be the backup, but he likely won’t move past Jones in the depth chart after last Saturday’s scrimmage. The other option at quarterback is Paul Tyson, but he seems headed for a redshirt.
Filling Hurts’ shoes is no insignificant thing. Has there ever been more pressure on a backup quarterback? Jones is replacing one of the most popular players in Alabama football history, and there is a Tagovailoa behind him on the depth chart.
Of all the stockpiles of talent Alabama has had over the last decade, having Hurts backup Tua at quarterback last season was the most obscene. In the end, Alabama squandered that advantage.
That’s a tough pill to swallow for Saban, who has enjoyed so much success, but deep down he knows it’s true. Hurts and not Tua should have started against Clemson in the national championship.
It might not be fair to second-guess Saban for starting Tua, but ultimately going with an injured quarterback when the backup is one of the best players in the country is on the coaching staff. Tua was still injured after severely spraining his ankle against Georgia, making Hurts the better option against Clemson’s elite defense.
It seems obvious now, but Tua’s performance against Oklahoma’s historically bad defense in the semifinals obscured the perspective until it was too late.
Tua needed significant time to heal in the weeks following the national championship, according to a source familiar with the quarterback’s injury. Would Alabama have won the national championship with Hurts at quarterback? Who’s to say, but there’s no way a Hurts-led team would have lost by 28 points.
Even as a true freshman, Hurts could manage a game better than most.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Jones, Alabama’s untested backup, to study some of Hurts’ old game film. His time is coming.
Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.