Former Alabama star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has garnered national attention since his true freshman season on the Crimson tide football team. Whether it was his crazy collegiate debut against Vanderbilt, or his impressive second-half performance in the 2017 National Championship vs. Georgia, there’s always been something special about the Hawaiian-born quarterback.
In his three years under Nick Saban at Alabama, and starting two seasons, Tagovailoa accumulated a career total of 7,442 yards with a completion percentage of 69.3%, 87 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions.
Impressive numbers to go along with an impressive resume that consists of an SEC Championship, College Football National Championship, CFP National Championship MVP, 2018 Heisman finalist and a slew of other awards.
It seems that he’s always had the “It factor,” and that is what the Miami Dolphins are hoping to find in Tagovailoa since drafting him with the No. 5 overall selection in the 2020 NFL draft.
If it were not for his numerous injuries throughout college, he likely would have been a strong contender for the No. 1 overall pick and potentially a Heisman winner. Despite his length injury history, he’s still considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in recent years.
Why?
While there is plenty of criticism surrounding Tagovailoa’s style of play, he has risen up to the top of the ‘hype ladder’ and is now atop many national headlines just by completing passes in practice.
Well, Tagovailoa can definitely throw. It may not be the strongest pass, but an accurate one, nonetheless.
Not only is he a lethal passer, as shown in his career stats with Alabama, but he can run, as well.
His numbers while with the Crimson Tide (107 carries for 340 yards and nine touchdowns) may not show it, but anyone who watched the 44-yard touchdown run from Tagovailoa on an injured knee knows that letting him run free outside the pocket his a dangerous decision.
It appears that Tagovailoa’s ability to escape the pocket and take off has found its way to the NFL during the Dolphins 2020 training camp.
As reported by ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe, Emmanuel Ogbah, an outside linebacker for the Miami Dolphins, who won Super Bowl LIV in 2019 with the Kansas City Chiefs, admits he is hard to bring down outside the pocket.
Emmanuel Ogbah smiles when discussing defending Tua Tagovailoa in practice. He says you have to keep contain because Tua can scramble on you. He noted that he’s pretty mobile and throws a good deep ball, throws it really well.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) September 4, 2020
If you spy on Tagovailoa, he’ll take advantage of it and throw the deep ball, if you don’t keep an eye on him, he’s gone for a decent gain.
That’s not all. Wolfe also reported that Dolphins safety Eric Rowe recognizes growth in Tagovailoa’s skills.
Eric Rowe says Tua Tagovailoa has got a lot better with his eyes and progression. Rowe notes that he was staring folks early in practices but he’s improved that as of late. Rowe remarks that Tua has a really good arm.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) September 4, 2020
He’s not expected to open the 2020 NFL season as Miami’s starter. but that doesn’t mean we won’t see him this season. There’s growing belief that the Alabama product has surprised many in training camp and could make his starting debut sooner than anticipated.