Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is one of several former Alabama players in the NFL, and like many of his college teammates, he was drafted in the first round.
Tagovailoa was ranked 22nd overall and as the top dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2017 by 247Sports. He went to Saint Louis School in Honolulu, the same school former Oregon quarterback and 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota attended.
Tagovailoa had a number of schools recruit him during his high school career. He listed Alabama, Arizona, Hawai’i, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, USC, UCLA, USC, and Washington as finalists less than two months before announcing his college decision.
After he committed to the Crimson Tide, Tagovailoa said, “Coach Nick Saban is a really good guy and a really humble man. Soft-spoken, but the words hit.”
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Tua Tagovailoa Relieves Jalen Hurts, Wins Title
The year before Tagovailoa arrived in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Jalen Hurts became the first freshman quarterback to start for Nick Saban and helped Alabama reach the College Football Playoff title game. The Crimson Tide lost on a last-second touchdown pass by Clemson’s Deshaun Watson.
Tagovailoa saw limited time during the regular season as a freshman as Hurts led Alabama back to the College Football Playoff title game against SEC rival Georgia. Tagovailoa had eight pass touchdowns with one interception and two rush touchdowns in seven games.
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Alabama trailed Georgia 13-0 at halftime when Saban decided to replace Hurts with Tagovailoa. It was a huge risk for Saban to replace Hurts, who had only lost two games as a starter, with a freshman who had 53 career pass attempts. Tagovailoa rewarded Saban’s faith by going 14 of 24 for 166 yards with three touchdowns, including a 41-yard pass to DeVonta Smith to win the championship in overtime.
Former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who was on the staff that recruited Tagovailoa, told The Dan Patrick Show that the quarterback would likely have transferred had he not been able to play in the game. Kiffin said, “People that really know what’s going on would tell you that Tua was leaving because Tua thought that he should be the starting quarterback and had outperformed him in practice, and Coach never gave him an opportunity.”
Tagovailoa Takes Starting Role
As a sophomore, Tagovailoa won the starting job over Hurts and went on to win the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Maxwell Award. He finished second behind Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Tagovailoa led Alabama back to the College Football Playoff title game with one key assist from Hurts. With the Crimson Tide again trailing Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, Tagovailoa suffered an ankle injury, and Hurts led Alabama to a comeback win and a conference title.
Tagovailoa led Alabama to victory over Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinals, but Clemson easily defeated the Crimson Tide. Hurts left the school after the season and transferred to Oklahoma.
‘Tank for Tua’
Entering his junior season, Tagovailoa was the frontrunner to be the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Fans of struggling franchises were hoping their teams would “tank for Tua” during the 2019 regular season and get the top pick.
Tagovailoa had 27 touchdown passes and one interception in the first six games of the season. He only missed one game after having surgery to repair an ankle injury in the middle of the season. Tagovailoa returned to play two games before suffering a season-ending hip injury. He finished his junior season with 33 touchdown passes and only three interceptions in nine games.
