Bryce Young is the latest Alabama quarterback to fail in the NFL | Matt Vautour

At the start of 2021, former Alabama quarterbacks were the star of the NFL. Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, who once shared a quarterback room in Tuscaloosa, were all NFL starters, and future No. 1 pick Bryce Young appeared to be joining them.

Legendary coach Nick Saban had modernized his once conservative, run-heavy offense and put the quarterback front and center, and suddenly the Crimson Tide were producing as many professional passers as they were at any other position.

But barring injuries or unforeseen developments, none of the quarterbacks who finished their college careers at Alabama will start in the NFL in Week 3 of the season.

Hurts, who transferred to Oklahoma and finished his career there, is the only former Crimson Tide quarterback expected to start this week. Alabama does not list him among Saban's 123 NFL picks. Young, Tagovailoa and Jones, all once expected to be the saviors of their respective franchises, will all be on the bench.

Many of the Tide's quarterbacks who had brilliant college careers failed to make it to the NFL. Are their problems the result of random issues that plagued them individually, or was their draft value boosted by throwing to elite receivers while playing behind five-star linemen?

Joey Harrington and Akilli Smith were both first-round draft picks and Kellen Clemons was a second-round pick. All three played at Oregon under Mike Bellotti Oregon and all three underperformed in the NFL. Fair or not, Duck quarterbacks have earned a reputation for struggling in the NFL. These Alabama QBs aren't far off.

Tagovailoa is clearly unlucky. If he were healthy, he would definitely be the Dolphins' starter. His concussions obviously have nothing to do with where he played college football. But even before and between his head injuries, there were doubts about whether he was a quarterback who could lead his team to a title, a Super Bowl, or even a conference title game. His injury last week overshadowed how poorly he had played before that.

Before he suffered a hip injury at Alabama, there were fans who wanted their team to “tank for Tua” as if he were the next Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck. Tagovailoa has been solid, but his potential, even when healthy, is limited.

Mac Jones left Alabama with potentially unknown potential but perceived high potential. He was considered the most ready for the pros when the Patriots selected him in the first round, and since he had previously played for Nick Saban, he seemed like a good choice for Bill Belichick.

But after a good rookie year, he has regressed. The Patriots bear some of the blame. They gave him awkward offensive rookies Joe Judge and Matt Patricia as coaches in 2022 and watched as he not only faltered but became frustrated.

But even under Bill O'Brien, a respected and experienced offensive player, Jones could not bounce back. The Patriots traded him for very little money, allowing both sides to move on. He is currently a backup in Jacksonville.

Young was the biggest disappointment. He was the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, but he seemed outclassed by the Panthers from day one. He's too small, hesitant and not particularly accurate. His failures are all the more noticeable because No. 2, Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud, was great.

Young was benched after Carolina's second straight loss. He's not the only one struggling in Carolina's struggling organization, but he doesn't look like a solution either. He's won two of 18 games he's started, and the Panthers have averaged 12 points in those victories.

Hurts, who had his best college season for Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, was the best of the Tide's recent ex-quarterbacks and the only former Saban Alabama quarterback to win a playoff game in the NFL. That's actually a credit to Saban, who didn't need elite pro quarterbacks to make the Tide the nation's best program under his leadership.

Even Hurts, the best of that wave, was inconsistent. He was brilliant at times, but he threw the third-most interceptions in the NFL last year and struggled at the end.

With Saban retired, future Alabama quarterbacks may be more tied to Michael Penix, who played for new Tide coach Kalen DeBoer in Washington. But it will be interesting to see how teams evaluate Jalen Milroe, who played for Saban for most of his career. He's bigger than Hurts and much bigger than Young, and he's more athletic than Tagovailoa and much more athletic than Jones. Right now, he doesn't land in the first round of most mock drafts, but he could be Saban's last chance.

Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.