Nick Saban is Treating Tua Tagovailoa Like an Unproven Youngster and it's a Great Idea

One attribute that makes Alabama's Nick Saban such a great coach is that he doesn't demand eternal perfection, but requires a perfect effort.

Most coaches would be satisfied with having the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in Tua Tagovailoa, but Saban wants to see even more from his quarterback heading into his first draft-eligible season. He expects Tagovailoa to continue improving, simply because there is still work to be done. Second place will never be good enough for this dynasty.

Saban shows once again why he is a genius with this strategy. By publicly stating that Tagovailoa has something to prove, it puts a chip on the young quarterback's shoulder that he can embrace and use to get better as a college football player.

One of the most dangerous things in sports is a player who is too comfortable. Football is all about urgency, and guys who lounge around because they feel they have shown the staff what they can do will be in for a rude awakening come next season, especially since that "brilliant" year ended with Jalen Hurts saving his bacon when things mattered most, followed by a title game letdown.

Now, all that's left to see is whether or not Tagovailoa will step up his coach's challenge.