Can Tua Tagovailoa lead Alabama back to No. 1 in Year 2 as starter?
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tua Tagovailoa met with the media Monday afternoon wearing worn-in, loose-fitting house slippers, and he cracked jokes about being the first-team holder on Alabama’s official depth chart, which was released earlier in the day. Getting the ball down and spinning the laces out isn’t easy, the star quarterback explained, going into detail about how there has to be a slight tilt for the hold to be just right.
“You know,” he said, “I spend more time practicing my holding than I actually do my throwing.”
The comment drew a few chuckles from reporters before an Alabama staffer piped in, making it clear that it was only a joke. But at that point the bit was off and running. A grinning Tagovailoa added, “I literally think that’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
“It was really hard getting this job,” he said sarcastically. “I just really want to thank everyone who has been supporting me throughout this whole process with trying to get the holding position. I just thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. It was hard. But we made it through, guys.”
And just like that, having nailed the punchline, he left.
It was a small moment in the grand scheme of things, of course, but it was one you couldn’t have pictured a year ago. Back then, Tagovailoa headed into the season opener listed as the co-starter at quarterback with Jalen Hurts. Back then, he wasn’t even speaking to the media — many of whom wondered whether his valiant performance off the bench to win the national championship as a freshman was a one-hit wonder or a sign of things to come.
It was obviously the latter, as he beat out Hurts for the starting job, threw for just shy of 4,000 yards and finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. The lefty from Hawaii set the college football world on fire and prompted Hurts to transfer to Oklahoma, where he will start the Sooners’ season opener against Houston on Sunday.
But a second-place finish in the Heisman voting, as well as a second-place finish in the final College Football Playoff rankings, has brought about a different set of expectations for Tagovailoa that go well beyond depth charts. As he prepares with No. 2 Alabama to take on Duke (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC) in a return to Atlanta — a place where he has had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows — he faces what might seem like an absurd question: Can he be better this time around?
On the one hand, we’re talking about a quarterback who threw an eye-popping 43 touchdown passes and only six interceptions. Miami Dolphins fans are tweeting #TankForTua, and ESPN’s Todd McShay lists the junior as his No. 1 overall draft prospect.
But on the other hand, you can look at those six interceptions closely, parse them out, and ask whether they should have been even fewer. You go back to the SEC championship game against Georgia in Atlanta, where he rolled his ankle and struggled, completing 10 of 25 passes, including his fourth interception all season. Alabama needed a Hurts bailout to come from behind and make the playoff. Then you go to the CFP National Championship against Clemson at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where Tagovailoa threw his fifth and sixth interceptions of the season, including a brutal pick-six that set up an embarrassing 44-16 defeat.
Sure, he wasn’t 100% healthy. But does that explain how careless he was with the ball?
Rest assured, it’s not only the media and fans who have been nitpicking his performance late last season. Alabama coach Nick Saban went to SEC media days in Hoover, Alabama, and then ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, this summer and delivered a message about his quarterback that focused largely on improving his patience and limiting unnecessary turnovers. When a Tagovailoa pass attempt against Clemson flashed on screen during one interview, Saban explained how the play was actually designed for him to throw underneath when the cornerback bailed, but instead he threw deep to Jerry Jeudy and was picked off.
“That’s an indication a guy is trying to make plays and he’s trying too hard,” Saban said. “And I think Tua has to just stay patient and take what the defense gives. And I think when he does that he’s the most effective player at his position in the country.”
That idea of not forcing anything doesn’t exactly jibe with whom Tagovailoa has been in the past, though. For his first touchdown pass last season, he spun and blindly threw into the end zone to Jeudy for six. And that wasn’t anything new. As a freshman backup, he scrambled wildly against Vanderbilt and hurled a touchdown to DeVonta Smith.
That confidence bordering on arrogance showed up again that season during the national title game when he took an almost unforgivable sack in overtime to set up second-and-26 and later joked with Saban that he needed more room to throw the winning score.
It’s impossible to separate Tua the quarterback from Tua the gunslinger. Back at media days, Tagovailoa conceded Saban’s point and said he wanted to learn from his mistakes, but at the same time he added that, “If the shot is there, I’m going to take it. Don’t expect me to come and throw a checkdown.”
On Monday, he was asked for the No. 1 thing he wanted to improve upon, and he hit those same, familiar notes.
“Taking what the defense gives me — that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “But regardless of that being said, if there are shots that I’m able to take downfield — even if it’s on the first play — don’t expect me not to take it.”
He added, perhaps for his coach’s sake, that, “You never go broke taking a profit.” But you have to wonder whether he’s going to be content with small returns when he’s so accustomed to large gains.
Saban preaches that an offensive possession is successful when it ends with a kick, whether that’s a punt, a field goal or an extra point. And, frankly, it’s no secret which result Tagovailoa would rather be a part of as the first-team holder, capping off seven-point drives.
Going back to Atlanta, he’ll be confronted by conflicting emotions: the moment that propelled his career as well as the moment that planted doubt during an otherwise pitch-perfect season.
Will a different quarterback emerge this time?
“Well, I mean, football is just like life,” Tagovailoa said of going back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “That’s just how it is, you know? You’re going to have goods, you’re going to have bads. But this is an opportunity for me to learn from both the good and bad, kind of bring them together and move forward from it. I’m hoping this Saturday won’t end up like the last, the SEC championship game. Hopefully it will be better.”