Nick Saban Gets Emotional About Tua Tagovailoa Injury and Legacy at Alabama

For as often as we try to peg Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban as an emotionless tyrant, he is clearly not taking the injury to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa well. The Heisman contender will not play again this season, and potentially won't ever again at Alabama, after he dislocated his hip against Mississippi State.

Saban values what he had in Tua, as he classified him as one of the four or five players he ever "loved" at Alabama.

“We lost a great leader, a great player on our team and we’re all hurting because of it,” Saban said Monday. “I can think back to four or five players and actually can say I really love those guys as people, the way they did things, the contribution that they made, how they affected other people, and Tua would be one of those four or five guys."

If this is it for Tua in college, what a ride it was. Tagovailoa has a National Championship to his name, as well as 87 touchdowns to go along with only 11 interceptions in 2.5 years as the starter.

With Tua slated to undergo surgery in Houston, we as fans all hope it goes smoothly. The Hawaiian signal-caller should be ready to play in 2020, potentially at the next level.