Tua Tagovailoa has become a role model, fan favorite, and a household name in the state of Alabama, and even throughout the country. When he suffered a season ending injury last season against Mississippi State, many worried Tagovailoa’s playing days were over. But Tua Tagovailao’s playing days are nowhere near over. In fact, he’s just getting started.
Leading up the the draft, many wondered where Tua would end up in the draft. Prior to his season ending injury, he was not only a favorite to win the Heisman, he was also the projected first round pick. After his injury, questions and concerns plagued Tagovailoa’s name. Would he truly be ready this fall? Is he really 100%?
But as we would come to find out on Thursday night, the Miami Dolphins were willing to take the “risk” on drafting Tua Tagovailao with the 5th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Tua was one of the only players who dressed up for the draft. Many other players chose to wear more “comfortable” clothes, but Tua stood out in his fancy suit, but there’s a story behind his custom suit, and it’s quite the heartwarming story.
“Tagovailoa’s suit came from Richards Bespoke in Nashville, where he was working out ahead of the draft. He visited the shop with his family in January and picked out the pattern with owner Stephen Richards Jr. They found a lining with elephants and palm trees that seemed perfect for a kid from Hawaii who played for Bama, and decided to use it for the back of the vest. When Richards told him they could do a custom lining with photos of his grandparents, Tagovailoa “ate that up immediately,” says Richards. “He looks at me and he kind of says, Be quiet. He started whispering to me because everybody downstairs could hear us. He wanted it to be a surprise to his parents.””
But not everyone realized the best part: the lining is pictures of his grandparents.
Tua Tagovailoa was one of the only draft prospects to dress up and his custom suit included a tribute to his grandparents https://t.co/wuhhHzzB4L
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 24, 2020
Family is a big priority for Tua Tagovailoa, so the suit was the perfect fitting, pun intended, for such an occasion.
For the season, Tagovailoa threw for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
In his career at Alabama, Tagovailoa racked up 7,442 yards passing, 87 TDs and 11 INTs.
Stay tuned for more NFL draft coverage from the team at Roll Tide Wire, part of USA TODAY Sports!
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