One of the most anticipated decisions in the 2020 NFL draft class has been made, and a top quarterback prospect is in.
Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa is foregoing his remaining college eligibility, and will be declaring early for this year’s draft. He made the announcement at a press conference Monday alongside Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban.
Tagovailoa was widely regarded as the favorite to be this year’s top overall pick heading into the 2019 college football season, but multiple injuries derailed his campaign. While LSU’s Joe Burrow put together a dominant campaign on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy and the SEC title, Tagovailoa underwent another surgery for a high-ankle injury, and was later lost for the season due to a scary hip injury.
Though Tagovailoa’s current projections are still high, much of his draft stock will depend on his recovery throughout the next few months. It’s still unclear what parts of the predraft workout process he may be able to take part in, which could lead to teams being apprehensive about spending a high pick on him.
Even so, this decision carries lesser risk than returning to Alabama for another season, where another injury could knock him out of first-round consideration altogether. For now, Tagovailoa is still considered by most to be the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the class behind Burrow.
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