Just days after the college football world learned that Taulia Tagovailoa — the younger brother of No. 5 overall 2020 NFL Draft pick and former Alabama quarterback Tua — entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, the sophomore quarterback announced his landing spot.
Tagovailoa announced Friday on social media that he’s transferring from Alabama to Maryland, which is coached by former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator, Mike Locksley. Although Tua played under Locksley at Alabama, Taulia just missed him, as Locksley is entering his second year with the Terrapins.
For Alabama this season, Tagovailoa played in just five games, completing 9-of-12 passes for 100 yards with one touchdown. Because he played in more than four games during the 2019 season, he burned his redshirt and has three years of eligibility remaining.
God bless! #GoTerps pic.twitter.com/BvOSv8CsG7
— Taulia Tagovailoa (@tauliaa12) May 15, 2020
In a statement on social media, Tagovailoa wrote:
Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow. Thank you to Coach Saban & The great U of A staff for giving me an opportunity to stay in sweet home Alabama my 1st year in college.
This decision has not been easy and has been prayed on non stop [sic]. Thank you to my Pastors & my family for always interceding on my behalf.
Today, I am blessed to share that I will be continuing my academic & athletic journey at the University of Maryland. I’m grateful to Coach Locksley & the staff for giving me this opportunity. I can’t wait to get to College Park. God bless & Go Terps!
Coming out of high school, Tagovailoa was a four-star recruit and the No. 5 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class, per 247Sports.com.
He was Alabama’s third-string quarterback last season behind starter Tua and then-sophomore passer Mac Jones, who took over the starting spot when Tua went down with a season-ending hip injury in November.
Tagovailoa entered the transfer portal on May 8. More via ESPN:
“Taulia has outstanding field vision and excellent pocket awareness,” Locksley said in a statement. “He’s a twitchy passer that has the ability to make and extend plays in and outside of the pocket because of his above-average athleticism. Taulia has terrific touch and trajectory on his throws and delivers the ball with above-average accuracy. He’s a highly competitive player that will bring great competition to a good quarterback room.”
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