Tua Tagovailoa

Tua Tagovailoa
Alabama Crimson Tide – No. 13
Position Quarterback
Class Sophomore
Career history
College
Bowl games
High school Saint Louis School
(Honolulu, Hawaii)
Personal information
Born: (1998-03-02) March 2, 1998
ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 219 lb (99 kg)
Career highlights and awards

Tuanigamanuolepola "Tua" Tagovailoa (TOO-uh TUNG-oh-vy-LOH-uh)[1] (born March 2, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He was born and raised in Hawaii.[2]

Early years

Tagovailoa, the oldest of four children in a Samoan family, grew up with an intense interest in football. In a 2015 story in Sports Illustrated, his parents recalled that he slept with a football under his arm as a small child. During Pop Warner games when he was age 8, when his peers could typically throw a football little more than 10 yards, he routinely threw passes more than 30 yards. He was slow to grow into his body, but according to his high school coaches, "his Samoan genes finally kicked in" at about age 12.[2]

His main inspiration during his youth was his grandfather Seu, who was respected enough in the local Samoan community that he was regularly addressed as "Chief Tagovailoa". Seu believed that Tua would eventually grow into a football star, and he requested that Tua visit him after every game to give him a report, no matter the time of day, with Tua once visiting at 3:00 am. Tua was also pushed by his father Galu, a former junior-college player who returned to Hawaii to help support the family. Tua faced a crisis in the summer of 2014 when his grandfather unexpectedly died, and briefly considered quitting football until he and his father agreed that Tua could best honor Seu by continuing to play.[2]

He was ranked as the number one high school player in the state of Hawaii of the Class of 2017 and attended Saint Louis School in Honolulu, the same school as Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.[3] Mariota served as a mentor to him when they were growing up in Hawaii.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Tua Tagovailoa
QB		 Honolulu, Hawaii Saint Louis School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.90 May 2, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 3 (Dual-threat QB)  247Sports: 1 (Dual-threat QB)  ESPN: 1 (Dual-threat QB)
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Alabama Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  • "Alabama 2017 Football Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.

College career

2017

As a True Freshman, Tagovailoa was backup to Sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts throughout the 2017 season, but he got to see significant playing time due to a couple of blowout victories for the Crimson Tide. On September 9, he made his collegiate debut against Fresno State in a home game at Bryant–Denny Stadium. In the 41–10 victory, he finished 6-of-9 for 64 yards and his first career passing touchdown, which was a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Henry Ruggs III.[5] On September 23, in a 59–0 victory against Vanderbilt, he got more playing time and recorded 103 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.[6] In the next game, against SEC West rival Ole Miss, he recorded his first collegiate rushing touchdown in the 66–3 victory.[7] In the annual rivalry game against Tennessee, he finished with 134 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception, and one rushing touchdown in the 45–7 victory.[8] On November 18, in a game against Mercer, he threw for three passing touchdowns in the 56–0 victory.[9] On January 8, 2018, he replaced Hurts in the second half of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship due to ineffective play by Hurts.[10] He threw the game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime to another True Freshman, wide receiver Devonta Smith, to win the game and claim the 2017-2018 CFP National Championship. He finished the 26-23 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs 14-of-24 for 166 passing yards, three passing touchdowns & one interception, along with 27 rushing yards on 12 attempts.[11][12] Tagovailoa was named the Offensive MVP of the game.[13]

2018

On September 1, 2018, Tagovailoa made his first career start against the Louisville Cardinals at the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando, Florida. He finished the season opener 12-of-16, 227 passing yards, and two touchdowns in the 51–14 victory.[14] During Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s weekly Monday press conference following the victory, he formally announced Tagovailoa as the starter for The Crimson Tide’s home opener against Arkansas State on September 8.[15] In the 62–7 victory over Ole Miss, he was 11-of-15 for 191 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 47 rushing yards.[16] He continued his efficient season against Texas A&M with 387 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in the 45–23 victory.[17] In a limited role against Louisana, he was 8-of-8 passing for 128 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in the 56–14 victory.[18] In the next game against Arkansas, he had more passing touchdowns than incompletions as he went 10-of-13 for 334 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in the 65–31 victory.[19]

Statistics

Year Team Games Passing Rushing
GGSCmpAttPctYardsTDIntRtgAttYardsAvgTD
2017Alabama 80497763.6636112175.0271334.92
2018Alabama 667610175.21495210258.4231225.32
Career14612517869.42131322216.7502555.14

Personal life

After Tua’s committment to Alabama and graduating early from Saint Louis School, the Tagovailoa family moved to Alabama. Galu Tagovailoa, Tua's father told AL.com in March 2017, "For us to be around my son Tua ... that's the main reason for the move. We are a family and want to keep it as a family. That's what the move is about."[20] Tua is a committed Christian.[21]

Tagovailoa has a younger brother, Taulia Tagovailoa, who currently attends and plays quarterback for Thompson High School, in Alabaster, Alabama, a 1 hour drive from The University of Alabama campus.[20] Taulia, according to 247 Sports is currently the 9th ranked dual-threat quarterback in the nation in the Class of 2019 and received offers from nine schools, most notably including Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Ole Miss, and Oregon.[22] Taulia committed to Alabama on April 21, 2018 during the Alabama Spring game.[23] Both left-handed Tua and right-handed Taulia attended the Elite 11 QB camp in 2018, with Tua returning as a guest alumnus after winning MVP in 2016.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Alabama 2017 Class: Tua Tagovailoa". foxsports.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Schnell, Lindsey (October 8, 2015). "The islands' next great QB: Tua Tagovailoa, and the story of the man who inspired him to soar". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Tua Tagovailoa replaces Jalen Hurts: What you need to know about freshman QB". Sporting News. 2018-01-08. Archived from the original on 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  4. ↑ "Mariota happy for protege Tagovailoa's success". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  5. ↑ "Fresno State at Alabama Box Score, September 9, 2017". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  6. ↑ "Alabama at Vanderbilt Box Score, September 23, 2017". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  7. ↑ "Ole Miss at Alabama Box Score, September 30, 2017". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  8. ↑ "Tennessee at Alabama Box Score, October 21, 2017". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  9. ↑ "Mercer at Alabama Box Score, November 18, 2017". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  10. ↑ Lyles Jr., Harry; Kirshner, Alex. "True freshman Tua Tagovailoa replaces Jalen Hurts in the middle of the National Championship, sparking Alabama". SB Nation. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "College Football Championship - Alabama vs Georgia Box Score, January 8, 2018". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  12. ↑ Hoffman, Benjamin; Drape, Joe; Tracy, Marc (2018). "National Championship Game: Alabama Beats Georgia Behind Freshman Quarterback". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  13. ↑ "Alabama football: Tua Tagovailoa, Da'Ron Payne earn MVP honors". ajc. Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  14. ↑ "Tagovailoa shines, No. 1 Alabama routs Louisville 51-14". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  15. ↑ "No. 1 Alabama names Tua Tagovailoa starting quarterback". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  16. ↑ "No. 1 Alabama rolls past Ole Miss". WREG.com. 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  17. ↑ Hurt, Cecil. "Tagovailoa throws for 387 yards, four TDs as Tide thumps Aggies". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  18. ↑ "No sweat: Tua goes 8-for-8 as No. 1 Alabama rolls". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  19. ↑ "Tagovailoa throws 4 TD as No. 1 Alabama beats Arkansas 65-31". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  20. 1 2 Thomas, Ben (March 30, 2017). "Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa's brother set to enroll at Thompson High". AL.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  21. ↑ "'God, Thank You': Alabama Tide Wins Championship, Led by Faith-Filled Freshman QB Tua Tagovailoa". 9 January 2018. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018.
  22. ↑ "Taulia Tagovailoa Recruiting Interests". 247 Sports. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  23. ↑ Carroll, Charlotte (April 21, 2018). "Taulia Tagovailoa, Younger Brother of Tua, Commits to Alabama". si.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  24. ↑ NFL Network (2018-08-01), The Top 24 High School QBs in the Country Compete for a Spot on the 2018 Elite 11 | NFL Network, retrieved 2018-08-16
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