Thumb injury sidelines Tua Tagovailoa in Alabama's first practice

Alabama junior quarterback Jalen Hurts takes a snap during Tuesday's start to spring practice in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama junior quarterback Jalen Hurts takes a snap during Tuesday's start to spring practice in Tuscaloosa.

Jalen Hurts is Alabama's first-team quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Arguably the most anticipated position battle this spring in all of college football was shelved Tuesday when Crimson Tide sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a thumb injury in the opening practice.

"We're taking him to Birmingham to get that evaluated," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Tuesday night in a news conference. "It's probably going to require some time for him to get back. I don't want to speculate on what the injury might be, but most of the time when these types of things happen, it takes a little while for them to come back."

Tagovailoa replaced Hurts at halftime of January's national championship game against Georgia in Atlanta and rallied the Crimson Tide from a 13-0 deficit to a 26-23 overtime victory. That game was decided on a beautiful 41-yard touchdown strike from Tagovailoa to DeVonta Smith, who will be practicing some at cornerback this spring to help the Tide's lack of numbers in the secondary.

Hurts improved to 26-2 in his career as Alabama's starter thanks to Tagovailoa's heroics.

"In a few days, Tua will probably be able to do some things," Saban said, "but when you hurt your thumb on your throwing hand, it's kind of hard to throw the ball. I think that's going to be the issue - whether he's going to be able to throw it.

"He and Jalen were splitting reps, because we're giving both guys the opportunity to see how they compete and see what they can do."

Mac Jones, who redshirted last season, is Alabama's only other scholarship quarterback. East Carolina graduate transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew, who told media outlets last month that he would play his final year in Tuscaloosa, announced Tuesday via Twitter that he instead will be heading to Washington State.

Alabama opened spring practice without several notable players, including outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee), running back Josh Jacobs (foot), right tackle Matt Womack (foot) and inside linebacker Keith Holcombe (baseball). Saban supported Holcombe's focus on baseball this spring - he's hitting .361 with 13 RBIs in 18 games - and hopes to have the fifth-year senior in the fall.

What the Crimson Tide did have Tuesday was former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones, who Saban said has been cleared by the NCAA to join his staff.

"He's an intern, an analyst - I guess we could have several names for it," Saban said. "He can't coach on the field. He can work with us off the field."

Tide tidbits

Alabama practiced with a new offensive coordinator (Mike Locksley), defensive coordinator (Tosh Lupoi) and special-teams coordinator (Jeff Banks). Saban on the six newcomes on his coaching staff: "They are all doing extremely well. We hit a home run with all the guys we were able to hire." Fifth-year senior Ross Pierschbacher, the starting left guard the past three seasons, worked as the first-team center.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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