Alabama Football: 3 bold predictions for 2018 Iron Bowl vs. Auburn

3. Tua notches double digit rush attempts

The biggest development from last week’s game against The Citadel was that, for the first time in several weeks, Alabama’s super sophomore quarterback looked healthy and unaffected by his knee injury. He ditched the bulky knee brace, and approached the game with zero fear, even taking off and running and absorbing hits instead of sliding.

The surest sign that Tua is healthy came when he ran a quarterback sneak for a touchdown in the third quarter of last week’s game, getting low and forcefully pushing with his knees to gain the requisite yardage needed for the touchdown.

Everyone knows that Tua is a dynamic passer, and while the gap has narrowed, he still holds the lead in the Heisman Trophy race. One facet of his game that we haven’t seen as much of as we probably would have if he hadn’t gotten hurt is his running the football.

Tua has shown the ability to make big plays with his legs as he showed with the 44-yard touchdown run against LSU in the second half that sealed the deal in Baton Rouge. He showed more of a willingness to take off last week, but there still haven’t been the designed QB runs that we saw at the beginning of the season.

I expect those to make a return this week against an aggressive Auburn defense that will look to blitz as much as possible, hoping to take a page out of Mississippi State’s playbook by getting constant and consistent pressure on Tua, hitting him as often as they possibly can.

If Mike Locksley is comfortable calling some designed quarterback runs, that will add another dynamic to the Crimson Tide’s offense and make them that much more difficult to stop. I expect some designed QB runs, and some runs by necessity as Auburn forces Tua out of the pocket. I think he’ll reach double digit rush attempts for the first time this season, accumulating 50-60 yards on the ground in the process.