Saban names Tagovailoa as Alabama's starter vs. Arkansas State

Tua Tagovailoa has been named Alabama's starting quarterback over junior Jalen Hurts for Saturday's home opener against Arkansas State.

"Everyone knows that Tua is going to start and we're going to use Jalen's skill set in the future," head coach Nick Saban said on Monday, according to Alex Scarborough of ESPN.

"Now we know and you know," he added.

Alabama opened its 2018 season with a 51-14 drubbing of Louisville on Saturday. Tagovailoa completed 12 of 16 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns, adding five carries for 26 yards and a third score. It was his first college start after coming off the bench to lead the Crimson Tide to victory in the national championship game last season.

Hurts, who led Alabama to a 26-2 record as the starter over the past two seasons, completed 5 of 9 passes on the day for 70 yards.