Tua Tagovailoa did not participate Saturday in Alabama's second spring scrimmage, and coach Nick Saban isn't going out of his way to make sure the sophomore quarterback competes in next weekend's A-Day game.
The star of January's comeback victory over Georgia in the national championship game has been limited this spring due to a finger injury suffered on the first day of practice. Tagovailoa incurred another injury in Friday's workout.
"Tua had a little setback with his hand," Saban said Saturday afternoon in a news conference. "Doctors are trying to evaluate the best course of action as far as what we do with him the remainder of the spring. With that said, I can't really tell you any more about it.
"He didn't take any snaps today. He did take a lot of snaps yesterday. We're going to try to protect this and make sure that this is not going to be an issue for him in the future."
The battle between Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, who has guided the Crimson Tide to a 26-2 record as the starter, was arguably the top storyline this spring in college football. It never materialized, however, with Saban saying last week that he has no timetable in naming a starter for the season opener against Louisville in Orlando, Fla.
Saban said Hurts has had a "really good spring," adding that he continues to develop more confidence in the passing game.
Should Tagovailoa be held out of A-Day, redshirt freshman Mac Jones would bump up to the No. 2 spot. Saban said Jones has shown a lot of improvement but needs to rein his emotions when things go wrong.
Alabama's second scrimmage lasted nearly two hours and was moved indoors due to heavy rain and severe weather alerts in the Tuscaloosa area.
"After 11 years, we had to go inside for a scrimmage," Saban said. "We feel like we've been very fortunate, but I also think it's an opportunity for our players. Sometimes you get rain delays - we had one at Missouri a few years ago that was over an hour long - and players have to be able to respond and react to things like this.
"You think it's going to be a nice day, and all of a sudden it isn't. None of this stuff can affect how the guys go out there and compete."
The Crimson Tide will practice Tuesday and Thursday before wrapping up with A-Day.
Tide tidbits
Saban on former inside linebacker Reuben Foster, who has been arrested in San Francisco on three felony charges stemming from a domestic incident: "We don't condone this kind of behavior, and we certainly don't like to see any of our players have these types of issues." Saban was asked about the NCAA rule change that will allow more fair-catching opportunities on kickoffs and said he would have preferred just moving kickoffs up to the 40-yard line.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.