CLEMSON, S.C. _ Alabama coach Nick Saban received some criticism after Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's season-ending injury Saturday afternoon against Mississippi State.
Tagovialoa suffered a dislocated hip after taking a hit with Alabama leading 35-7 late in the second quarter, leading some to question why he was still in the game. Saban explained afterward that Alabama wanted to get Tagovailoa some work in the two-minute drill.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, understood the reasoning and explained how the Tigers make decision as far as when he is pulled with a big lead.
"If I'm ever asked what I want to do it's usually, 'Yeah, lets go another series.' So sometimes they'll say that, but usually it's either, 'You wanna go one more?' or it's, 'You're done,'" Lawrence explained. "So it just depends. I'm sure that was similar with Tua _ was kind of like, 'You want to be done or you want to go one more and get a last two-minute drive in?' or whatever it was. Obviously any competitor wants to go in and play more if they can, so I would've done the same thing."
Tagovailoa and Lawrence, two of the top quarterbacks in the country, bonded over faith at the Manning Passing Academy this summer. They have stayed in touch occasionally throughout the 2019 season.
Lawrence found out about the severity of Tagovailoa's injury following Clemson's win over Wake Forest Saturday afternoon.
"I hate it. I hate it for him ... I send him a text every now and then. I shot him a text when I saw it. I'm just praying for him and his family," Lawrence said. "It's just a hard situation, because I see what coach Saban's trying to do. It's still the second quarter, trying to get some reps. So I understand it, but it's really unfortunate and sucks that that happened. But definitely praying for him and I hate it for him and the whole program."
Clemson and Alabama have met in the College Football Playoff each of the past four seasons.
Seeing Tagovailoa go down was a tough reminder to Lawrence of the dangers of playing college football.
"Just enjoy and appreciate every moment because you never know when something can happen," Lawrence said. "It's obviously a violent game. Like I said, you just never know. Anything can happen at any given moment. Appreciate everything and enjoy it."
