LOOK: Lane Kiffin shows love to former Alabama QBs

Lane Kiffin was fortunate enough to recruit and coach some extraordinarily talented quarterbacks in his time at Alabama. With three of them starting in Week One of the NFL season, Kiffin showed some love to his guys.

❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/j8jwXXny51

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 13, 2021

This weekend, Jalen Hurts led the Philadelphia Eagles to victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Moreover, another Alabama connection was on full display — as Hurts found DeVonta Smith for a touchdown.

While there could only be one winner in the matchup between Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa, both former Alabama quarterbacks impressed. Tagovailoa’s team got the victory, but it can be argued Jones looked better yesterday.

In Kiffin’s time at Alabama, Hurts was the only one of the three he was actually fortunate enough to coach. However, he was involved in the recruitment and scouting of both Jones and Tagovailoa.

While he’s at Ole Miss now, Lane Kiffin is a fan of Alabama quarterbacks taking over the NFL.

Tua Tagovailoa happy for Mac Jones

The New England Patriots matchup with the Miami Dolphins yesterday could be the most-watched NFL 2021 regular-season game in the state of Alabama. The dual between two former Alabama stars, Tagovailoa and Jones, had everyone tuned in.

Tagovalioa, selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, enters his second season as the Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback. Jones, on the other hand, made his NFL debut on Sunday.

Tagovalioa and the Dolphins had the last laugh on Sunday; the southpaw completed 15 of 27 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception, ultimately beating the Jones-led Patriots 17-16. After the game, Tagovailoa expressed his excitement for Jones, his former teammate, as he made his NFL debut.

“I was happy for him,” Tagovailoa said of Jones. “It being his first real game with a crowd like this, I thought he made some really good throws. And their execution on third down I thought was really good. Mac looks like he fits perfectly into their offense and their system. So, I was happy for him.”

Jones had a solid NFL debut, despite the loss. As Tagovailoa pointed out, the Patriots offense converted 11 of 16 third-down attempts — far better than the Dolphins, who converted just four of 11 — and Jones was a big reason for that success. He completed 29 of 39 pass attempts for 281 passing yards, along with one touchdown and no interceptions.

On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this article.