Under the guidance of coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide football team has produced 123 drafted prospects, including 57 league-leading players on active rosters, throughout the NFL from 2023 onwards. The main objective for Alabama football has always been to acquire top-tier players.
Among those elite players, there is a particular group of four quarterbacks who played in Tuscaloosa from 2016 to 2022, leading the program to unprecedented heights. They are Bryce Young, the first overall pick in 2023 for the Panthers, Mac Jones, selected by the Patriots, Tua Tagovailoa, chosen by the Dolphins, and Jalen Hurts, picked by the Eagles.
Alabama reached the College Football Playoffs five times in a span of seven seasons, relying heavily on their quarterbacks and achieving great success. However, in 2023, the team is facing challenges in the aspect of exceptional quarterback performance, which they had previously depended on to lead their offense instead of relying on a ground game to secure victories. This indicates a change in offensive strategy for Saban’s Crimson Tide since Hurts joined the team in 2016.
It’s not surprising to see Young, Jones, and Tagovailoa transitioning to the NFL, as they have all experienced different levels of success in their careers. If you want to know everything about Alabama’s ties and seasons in the NFL in 2023, here’s where you need to begin.
REQUIRED READING: Paul Finebaum asserts that Jalen Milroe should assume the role of Alabama’s starting quarterback by 2023.
Alabama currently has four primary quarterbacks in the NFL, surpassing all other college football teams.
Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
In 2023, the NFL stats showed that there were two touchdowns, 21 attempts for 72 yards, one interception, and two touchdowns. Additionally, there were 363 passing yards out of 56 attempts (71.4 percent).
Hurts is proving to be an exceptional runner and a dangerous threat when throwing the ball deep, but he finished as the runner-up for the NFL MVP voting in 2022. He enjoyed a great start to the 2023 season, leading Philadelphia to victories over the Patriots in Week 1 and the defending NFC champion in Week 2 on Thursday Night Football.
Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins)
2023 NFL statistics: 28 out of 45 completions (62.2 percent) for 466 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
Tagovailoa torched the Chargers’ defense, throwing for 466 passing yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing one interception. This is why everyone was showing him as the front runner for MVP in the 2022 NFL season, despite his derailed concussions.
Once again, he suggests that MVP for the challenge, if he remains healthy for the entire week outing of his season, and if he puts those lessons to use, he can fall in an effort to learn how to stay healthy for the 2023 season and build up his body during the offseason spent by Tagovailoa.
Who will assume the role of the starting quarterback for Alabama in the matchup against Mississippi? The decision will be made by Nick Saban this week.
Mac Jones (New England Patriots)
2023 NFL statistics: 35 out of 54 completions (64.8 percent) for 316 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
In 2022, sophomore Jones had a rough time, and much of his struggles can be attributed to the offensive coordinator, Matt Patricia. Jones may have lost confidence due to Hurts’ presence in Philadelphia. However, he almost made a comeback in Week 1 of the Eagles’ season. He completed 65 percent of his passes, scoring three touchdowns and passing for over 300 yards, despite the team’s 20-25 loss.
Bryce Young (Panthers)
2023 NFL statistics: 20 out of 38 completions (52.6 percent) for 146 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
In his rookie season, his next challenge will be to improve and develop over the course of 2 weeks, culminating in a Monday night showdown against the Saints in a Football Night matchup. This is a remarkable accomplishment considering he is the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft of 2023, and the only player from Alabama, coached by Saban, to achieve this feat. Unfortunately, in his debut NFL game for the Falcons against the Panthers in Week 1, he struggled, completing just over 50% of his passes and throwing two interceptions and one touchdown. He was the only quarterback from Alabama to win the Heisman Trophy.
Will any quarterbacks from Alabama face off against each other in 2023?
Furthermore, in addition to competing against one another, the former Alabama quarterbacks, Jones and Tagovailoa, will face each other in several non-divisional games between the Patriots and Dolphins in the AFC East meetings.
Tagovailoa, the former Crimson Tide quarterback, will face his alma mater in three consecutive weeks. On October 15th, he will play against the Dolphins and the Panthers. Then, on October 29th and September 17th, the Dolphins will face Jones twice. Of course, on October 22nd, Tagovailoa will play against the Dolphins and the Patriots, while Jones has already played against Hurts. Tagovailoa is the only quarterback who will play against each of his former Crimson Tide signal-callers in 2023.
Here is the complete roster of the matches for the 2023 NFL season: