Alabama Football: Hurts struggles, Jones shines

TUSCALOOSA (TNS) — Mac Jones seemed to be the odd man out in the quarterback competition between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.

Not anymore.

“I’m super proud of him. One thing I tell him every day: ‘Just come to work, be the best you can be, control what you can control and just be the best you you can be,’ ” said senior running back Damien Harris. “I know everybody talks about Jalen and Tua, but I think today Mac showed that his name deserves to be in the same conversation with those guys.”

With injured sophomore Tagovailoa (hand) sidelined until preseason camp in August, Saturday was the Jalen and Mac show. Jones, the redshirt freshman, made an impression against the second-team defense in Alabama’s A-Day spring game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Jones was named the game’s co-MVP with kicker Joseph Bulovas and threw for a game-high 289 yards on 23-of-35 passing and two touchdowns. That included a 65-yard catch-and-run by redshirt freshman receiver Chadarius Townsend, of Tanner, who caught the pass in the middle of the field, bounced off a defender and raced down the right sideline into the end zone to go ahead 14-0, 3:21 into the second quarter. Jones added a 46-yard touchdown strike to junior slot receiver Xavian Marks with 35 seconds remaining to put the game away.

“We’ve been very pleased with the progress that Mac Jones has made, so that gives us more depth at that position,” Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said.

Hurts, however, continued to struggle moving the ball through the air. He was 19-of-37 passing for 195 yards and one fourth-quarter interception while competing against the first-team defense.

Saban remained supportive of the two-year starter, whom he benched at halftime of January’s national championship game.

“I was not disappointed in the way Jalen played,” Saban said. “We have some guys that can rush, and even though we were rushing four guys most of the time, there was way too much pressure in the pocket for the quarterback to be able to operate like we would like. Jalen made some good plays and throws, and I’m sure if you were to talk to him he would say, ‘I wish there were things I did better and can improve on.’ “

But Saban was audibly and visibly frustrated by Hurts’ inability to move the ball through the air, including when one of ESPN’s microphones picked up Saban saying, “… I mean, the third-team quarterback can move the team right down the field throwing the ball.”

That was after Hurts pulled the ball down and scrambled for a 26-yard gain midway through the second quarter after starting 3-of-7 for 18 yards. Following a 2-of-4 showing in the first quarter, Hurts went into halftime with 32 yards on 6-of-14 passing.

Hurts let it fly after the break, throwing for 163 yards on 13-of-23 passing in the second half, but he never found the end zone despite four trips inside 25.

“We have the best defense in the country, year in and year out,” Harris said. “We made a lot of big plays, good runs and good passes, but they were a great defense, and it’s hard to finish in the red zone. That is just one thing that we have to continue to improve on.”

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Saban sees plenty of room for improvement.

“I’m not necessarily satisfied where we are, and I don’t think anyone on our team should be satisfied where we are,” Saban said. “I hope every individual can point to something that can improve their performance.”