CFB Notebook: 'Bama QB Tagovailoa says ankle is 80-85 percent

Alabama sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Wednesday that his sprained left ankle is at about 80-85 percent. Tagovailoa underwent surgery after sustaining the injury in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 1 against Georgia. "It's been a lot better," Tagovailoa said. "If I could grade it on a scale from zero-to-100, I would say it's at about 80-85 percent. It's been really good. No setbacks." "I let my parents deal with that, with how they wanted to go about doing things with the trainers," Tagovailoa said when asked why he decided to undergo the surgery. "They talked to the trainers and the trainers and my parents sat me down and talked to me about it, and I told them as long as it's fine with my parents, I'm fine with it." The native Hawaiian has thrown for 3,353 yards with 37 touchdowns against four interceptions this season. He completed 67.7 percent of his passes and led the nation in yards per catch (16.9). Tagovailoa isn't the only ailing quarterback heading into Saturday's College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Kyler Murray skipped Oklahoma's media availability on Wednesday because he wasn't feeling well, a school spokesman said. Murray and the No. 4 Sooners (12-1) will bid to upend Tagovailoa and No. 1 Alabama (13-0) on Saturday (8 p.m. ET). Oklahoma offensive coordinator Cale Gundy didn't offer much insight into what is plaguing Murray. "I didn't know anything about it until I got in the car this morning," Gundy said. "I'm sure the doctors got with him and probably thought it was best to get a little rest before practice. "He should be fine I think, but I don't really know a whole lot of it." --Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert announced that he intends to remain in school and return for the 2019 season. Herbert is viewed as a top quarterback prospect for the 2019 NFL Draft. "The University of Oregon has been a special place to me for as long as I can remember," Herbert said in a statement on Twitter. "Words will never be able to express my feelings of gratitude toward the people that have built and maintain our program. "What I have come to realize, though, is that nothing could pull me away from the opportunities that we have in front of us. as we prepare for our bowl game, I would like to ensure that there are no distractions outside of this game. My commitment to my teammates, our coaches, Duck fans and the University of Oregon has never been stronger. I'll be returning to the University of Oregon for my senior year." Herbert passed for 2,985 yards with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season for Oregon (8-4), which will face Michigan State (7-5) in the Redbox Bowl on Monday (9 p.m. ET). He has also rushed for 173 yards and two scores. --Starting right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty has become the fourth Michigan starter who has decided to skip the Wolverines' game against Florida in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Saturday, a school official confirmed to the Detroit Free Press. Bushell-Beatty, a fifth-year senior, didn't even make the trip with his teammates to Atlanta for the bowl game after missing the regular-season finale against Ohio State after being limited the week before because of injury. He was on the sidelines for that game. Redshirt freshman Andrew Stueber, who replaced Bushell-Beatty in the starting lineup against Ohio State, also will start at right tackle against Florida. Bushell-Beatty, a New Jersey native who was a four-star member of the Wolverines' 2014 recruiting class, started 19 games during his Michigan career, including 11 this season and seven last year. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection this season on teams selected by conference coaches and the media.