Mark May on Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama's biggest challenger & the future of Urban Meyer



[ad_1]

The University Football Hall of Fame, Mark May, is simply the latest to have been blown away by Alabama's quarterback game, Tua Tagovailoa.

May, former offensive lineman of the Washington Redskins, Super Bowl winner and former ESPN analyst, was in Mobile on Monday to speak at C Spire 1st & 10 Club. He likened Tagovailoa to current NFL namesake Russell Wilson and Drew Brees, claiming that Crimson Tide's second student could "make moves like Russell and pass as Drew."

"Watch this young man play – he has the heart, he has the character, he has the spirit," said May, who now hosts the college football show on the Crowd's Line alongside his long-time collaborator. date, Lou Holtz. "He has athleticism and can play with his legs. When you can defeat the LSU's defense with such a pitch, it's like "whoa". He has everything. It's scary in a lot of defenses. You see Harris guys (Damien and Najee) running the ball, wide receivers in their attack – who are you stopping? If you have the chance to stop the halves and the receivers, he can take it off and make you run 40 km. "

The race mentioned by May was Tagovailoa's 44km run to the end zone in the third quarter of a 29-0 win at LSU last Saturday. Tagovailoa also racked up 295 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his season total to 2361 yards, 27 touchdowns and one interception.

Improving to 9-0, Alabama not only eliminated LSU in third place, but limited the Tigers to 12 yards. May said that the performance was not as good and that the top ranked Crimson Tide is able to play.

"I think it was their B game or B-plus because they made a lot of mistakes early and still dominated in the game," said May. "That's what really impressed me. You knew that they were going to win the match and that they were probably going to win convincingly, but … you saw them make some unusual mistakes, as they've never done before. But the fact is that they are so good that they can overcome problems like that. The attack was not 100%, but the defense goes out and blocks LSU for nothing. It's like throwing popcorn on a battleship, holding someone like that within 12 yards. It's impressive. "

Maybe if Alabama wins and claims another national championship title, the 2018 Crimson Tide will become one of the largest university football teams of all time. Alabama still has three regular season games to play at home against the Mississippi State, Citadel and Auburn before the SEC championship game against Georgia on Dec. 1.

Win them and play in the college football playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. May said it was almost certain that Clemson would be waiting on the other side, as it has been for the last three years, although Oklahoma – led by his dynamic quarterback Kyler Murray – is another team that could challenge Alabama.

"I want to see them play Clemson in the championship game, because that's when I want to sit down with the popcorn and see what happens," said May. "I think the only other team that could possibly get them is Oklahoma, the way they can score. Their defense is not so terrible. … If you look at their offense, they just find ways to score. Kyler Murray has this kind of quarterback who can play with his legs and his arm. Alabama has not been in this situation yet. … Almost every other team, if the opponent scores them, they have to find a way to come back and score. Many of these teams can not. Oklahoma can and you certainly know that Alabama can.

May stated that he did not believe that Michigan and Notre Dame were serious opponents of Alabama, especially for "speed, depth and depth of quality". Fifth place, in particular, he said, still did not play a "dynamic offensive". "

As for Ohio State, a troubled season has masked some alignment problems for the Buckeyes, who lost to Purdue three weeks ago. Ohio State has played its first three games without coach Urban Meyer, who has been suspended by the school for his slow response to allegations of spousal abuse against former assistant coach Zach Smith.

"Especially when they're traveling, you should see some of the panels (fan-shaped). They are hammered, "said May. "It's difficult for the players. … you do not know what will happen. Apparently, the president wanted him to leave and wanted a longer suspension. … they have problems there. You watch them play, they have holes on the offensive line. They still have trouble defending themselves. Even without Nick Bosa (the injured defensive end), with his depth and defensive skill, they are supposed to be better than they are. The explosive games they have abandoned this season … after the Purdue match, they had abandoned more explosive games than they had last year. That's a lot. "

The future of Meyer has been the subject of rumors in recent weeks. The coach has publicly announced that some of the health problems that ended his tenure in Florida appear to have occurred again. Meyer promised that he would be back next season at Ohio State, but May said the Buckeyes coach could be running for a Blueblood program on the West Coast with a head coach in competition – USC.

The Trojans are 5-4 this season and tied for first place in the Pac-12 South. Last week, head coach Clay Helton dismissed attack line coach Neil Callaway, downsized offensive coordinator Tee Martin, and qualified himself.

"You never know about Ohio State," said May. "It's a different fan base and all they want is to win. With Urban, if his health stays together, who knows? If he wants to pack his bags and leave, he will probably be sitting in Los Angeles at USC. "

[ad_2]
Source link